It's Different
by minashouseofpleasure
Summary: Haruka Tenoh is a goofy and naive college dropout who has just returned to her hometown for the first time. Her brother sets her up on a blind date that changes her life forever. Also known as the California AU.
1. Coors Light

The smell of greasy meat and spilled beer was thick in the air, laced with the faint scent of cigarette smoke wafting from the back door of Miguel's. Haruka ducked her head to keep from bumping into the green shaded light at the entrance and scanned the dim Mexican restaurant. She couldn't tell if the combination of familiar smells was making her feel nostalgic or nauseous. She used to come here with her grandma when she was a kid, so frequently that the waitresses knew their regular order.

As she made her way up to the bar, she was filled with a peculiar sadness, realizing that the waitresses probably couldn't even recognize her anymore. She was still the tall lanky girl she was at 11, but ten years had brought so many changes to her appearance. Her long, pale blonde hair had been chopped short and naturally darkened to a dirty dishwater color. Her chubby face had narrowed, her baby fat replaced with a well earned toned physique after years on the track team.

Thinking about her grandma brought back the guilt she and been swallowing since she had left her hometown right after she graduated high school. It was strange; despite her grandma's passing her junior year, she still felt like she had betrayed her by moving to Los Angeles those few years ago to play softball at UCLA. She knew, of course, that was nonsense- her grandma would have told her she was an idiot if she had stayed. She was so supportive of Haruka in all her endeavors- she was the first person Haruka came out to, and she sat front row at every high school track meet she had run. God, Haruka missed her every second.

She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts by the bartender asking politely what she cared for. She handed over her ID and asked for a Coors Light, thanking him with her charming grin when he set it down. The tinkle of the bell on the front door caught her attention and she glanced over, remembering why she was here with the flip of her stomach. A family with three rowdy young boys walked in and she sighed in relief, the anticipation of her blind date's arrival putting her on edge.

Haruka had always been great with women, her nerves easily hidden underneath her attractiveness and charm. In LA she had been a bit promiscuous, feeling the pressure of her classmates' The L Word-like lifestyles. The first thing her foster brother, Liam, had said to her in the car from the airport when she came back to her hometown was that he'd met a girl that would be just PERFECT for her. "JUST PERFECT," he said. "She saw the picture of us with grandma in my wallet, and asked if you were single."

She dismissed it at first, asking about his boyfriend, teasing him about prolonging his proposal he'd been planning for months. He simply laughed off her jokes and returned the conversation to this PERFECT girl, and she knew it was because he'd seen her Instagram posts and snaps the past few months. She'd been out with different girls every night.

What Liam didn't know was that Haruka hadn't slept around the way it seemed. The first year or so she had been with one girl, fallen in love with her, and had her heart promptly broken. So she went out every night seeking companionship, but that's all it was. Companionship. She won over the hearts of girl after girl to the point that guys on campus were threatening to fight her almost weekly. But she never slept with them- things got too messy that way.

So Haruka was reluctant to accept Liam's offer to set her up with a blind date, but the minute he insinuated the reason she refused was that she slept around too much to have time for dates, she gloweringly accepted. He squealed with delight, exclaiming again how PERFECT this girl was for her, that she was on the dance team at the community college, that's how he met her. Haruka rolled her eyes and snorted, though girls who danced were kind of her weakness sometimes.

She drummed her fingertips on the bar top a few times, then gulped her beer half empty. Liquid courage, right?

The tinkle of the bell on the front door caught her attention. Haruka glanced over to see a blonde girl near her age, so she quickly looked away and tried to slouch into a casual position. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. How the fuck do you sit on a barstool casually?

"Are you Haruka?" a loud, chesty voice asked from behind her. Haruka turned and smiled at the blonde girl, taking note of her very short skirt and very red bow in her hair.

"Yeah, I am," Haruka smirked. "How'd you know?"

The girl shrugged and gestured to her side. "You're the only dorky butch softball player I see in this restaurant," she stated matter of factly. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Haruka chuckled and nodded, quietly scheming a prank to play on Liam to get him back for that one. "You're Minako, then?"

"Mina," she said, flashing a brilliantly white grin. She was incredibly beautiful- naturally tan, with freckles across her nose and cheeks, sparkling blueish eyes.. she was thin in a muscular way. Haruka could tell she was an athlete. The white of her top was so crisp, Haruka wondered if she used color safe bleach, or like, a clorox pen or something. Maybe when she got home she could try getting out the stain on her softball pants again- "Are you going to check me out or buy me a drink, dude?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't checking you out, actually, I was just noticing the whiteness of your shirt," she said, gesturing to the bartender for another beer.

"The whiteness of my shirt?" Mina raised both her eyebrows right back. They stayed in the air when the bartender brought over a beer for her. "Is this for me?"

"Uh, yeah, unless you want something else?" Haruka asked, cocking her head to the side. Girls didn't usually complain when she bought them drinks.

"No, it's fine," Mina took a large gulp of the light beer, her eyes never leaving Haruka. "You're lucky I like beer. Most girls dressed like me don't."

Haruka's eyebrows furrowed. "Girls dressed like you? What, like, wearing white?"

"No, like, ten girls," Mina said, mimicking Haruka's use of the word. "Girls who are a ten. If you buy a ten a beer, you're insulting her."

"You're saying you're a ten?"

"Are you saying I'm not?"

Haruka opened then closed her mouth. "I don't believe in tens," she resolved, turning back to face the bar.

"Oh, jaded are we?" Mina said, a sarcastically jolly lift in her voice. "Interesting. So when your brother set me up with you, was it because you're an egotistical asshole who needs a soft, sweet woman's touch? Or because your ex-girlfriend dumped you and you're in a rut?" she asked sweetly, sipping her beer.

Haruka snorted. "I'm an egotistical asshole? You just met me!"

"You lied about checking me out and bought me a beer, dude," Mina held out her hand like it was obvious why she was offended.

"I didn't lie about checking you out, I really was thinking about color safe bleach-"

"Right, sure." Mina cut her off and took a last swig of her beer. The girls were silent for a moment, and Mina drummed on the bar top the same way Haruka had done earlier. She sighed and glanced around for a few moments, then finally slapped her hands against her thighs. "Wanna, like, go to my place and play Mario Kart and get pizza or something? I just want to put my pajamas on, and we're obviously not having sex tonight." Mina hopped off her barstool and without an answer from Haruka she was out the door.

Haruka turned to see the bartender watching her go. "What just happened?" she asked him/no one.

—

Haruka loved Mina's apartment the minute she walked in. It was small, but incredibly warm, and smelled of peaches and rich vanilla. The ceiling was laced with hanging plants, their vines intertwining in a few places. The walls were covered with colorful paintings, sprinkled with posters of bands and pictures of Mina's friends and family.

While Mina turned on the lights and lit candles, mumbling something about her roommate not being home, Haruka removed her coat and admired a framed picture over the entry table. It was of Mina and a few other girls that also looked their age. Mina had her arm around another blonde girl, this one with long pigtails in her hair, her mouth wide open and her eyes scrunched up in laughter. Next to the blonde girl was a pale girl with dark, raven hair. Her mouth was in a tight line, but her eyes were soft and happy. Kneeling on the ground in front of them was a small girl with a bright blue pixie cut. Her eyes were shielded by thick black rimmed glasses and her small giggle shielded by her dainty hand. They were all wearing big sweaters, posed in front of a lopsided Christmas tree covered in pink tinsel. When Haruka turned to study Mina's living room, she could tell it had taken residence next to her fireplace.

"They're basically my family," Mina called over from the stereo where she was flipping through channels.

"Mm!" Haruka nodded in acknowledgement. "You guys are all adorable."

She looked over to see Mina had come to admire the photo with her, a wide smile dancing on her freckled face. She pointed to a tall girl on the right side of the picture, who Haruka hadn't noticed before. She was carrying a tray of cookies into the room, waving at the camera with one of her pink oven mitts. Haruka could practically see her tall brunette ponytail bouncing with her steps. "That's my roomie, Makoto," she said. "She'll probably be home in a few hours, maybe you'll get to meet her. She'll be fucking delighted someone her height is around, she's always complaining that we're all midgets."

Haruka laughed. "You all are pretty tiny."

"Yeah, but Mako likes it I think, secretly, you know?" Mina said as she hopped over to flip on the TV and set up her video games. "She likes being the one who takes care of all of us. We're a big family, and she is our big strong momma." Mina's loud, throaty laugh filled the room along with the Mario Kart theme song. She sat on the couch and picked up her controller, setting a second down on the coffee table in front of her.

Haruka took one last look at the picture before joining Mina on the couch. "You all look really happy. It must be nice to have a family on top of your real family."

"Eh, I don't see my real family much," Mina shrugged, offering Haruka a beer from the mini fridge under the TV. "They all live in Europe, moved there when I was 14. I came back to California the minute I could. Cloudy skies and no cheeseburgers? Yeah, I lasted like three seconds."

"They don't have cheeseburgers in Europe?" Haruka asked, cracking open her beer.

"No," Mina shook her head, her eyes widening with seriousness as she selected a course from the menu. "They don't have cheeseburgers, or country music, or Obama. It's a horrible place, Haruka."

Haruka snorted. Mina was incredibly strange. Her sense of humor was the weirdest combination of dry sarcasm and ridiculous outlandish statements. Yet, Haruka strangely felt like she had known her her whole life. She found herself sitting on the couch next to her 'blind date' having no nerves in her stomach at all, only hunger. Her stomach grumbled. "So are we gonna get pizza, or not until I kick your ass in Mario Kart?"

Mina cackled. "Oh Haruka, don't you realize this is why we're playing Mario Kart? Whoever loses pays for pizza." Right as she said that, her little Peach driver threw a red shell at Haruka's Waluigi, knocking her off course.

It was Haruka's turn to cackle. "Oh my god dude, you are such a weasel!" her character got back on course and she started to pick up speed, snagging a few items to speed her up. "But you underestimate my Mario Kart skills."

"We'll see, Tenoh."

Haruka's body felt warm after three beers and a few rounds of Mario Kart. She sat cross-legged on Minako's dark red couch, which was incredibly soft and squishy, and made Haruka feel like she was sitting on a giant version of Mina's bow. She had won every game, which had only made Mina want rematch after rematch, punching Haruka in the arm every time she lost.

"I think you owe me like ten pizzas now," Haruka sang smugly as she crossed the finish line first yet again. She got up and did a tiny dance to the winner's music. Mina cackled and chucked a few pillows at her. "You are are such a sore loser dude!" Haruka laughed, dodging the attacks.

"Alright, let's go then," Mina said, hopping up and pushing Haruka out of the way. She collected her keys and pulled her coat over her small shoulders, and Haruka followed. Mina opened the door to leave, but whipped around, pushed her finger in Haruka's face, gritted her teeth and said, in an extremely stern tone, "but we have to get Hawaiian."

Haruka chuckled. "Okay. Why Hawaiian?"

Mina crinkled her eyebrows. "Because I fucking love Hawaiian, duh," she said, her arms out, and she shut the door in Haruka's face.


	2. Waterfall Hair

The heat from the August day gone was still remembered by the concrete beneath Haruka and Minako's feet as they wandered down the street to the pizza parlor. Haruka could almost feel the sun's lost rays radiating from the sidewalk, and regretted putting her jacket back on at Mina's. It didn't help that she had been drinking, a small flush settling on her cheeks.

And yet, despite the heat, she felt wonderful. Mina had turned out to be great company, even if it wasn't the kind she had planned. Honestly, Haruka felt nice just having a woman's company in such a friendly manner. Most of Haruka's female high school friends had felt distanced from her after she came out, and when her grandma passed away, she had excluded herself from all of their get togethers, feeling too emotionally vulnerable, though she would never admit it. She hadn't kept in touch with any of them after she moved to LA, and she had lived in her dorm alone at school. She made a few friends on her softball team, but when the season was over she found herself uninterested in their keggers and ecstasy laced nights at raves. It bored her. Mina was interesting to Haruka. She felt like a constant challenge.

So here she was, strolling down this familiar street of her hometown's, the streetlights and warm vanilla glows from the shops reflected in the fine sheen on her forehead, listening to a beautiful, tanned blonde ramble about her bowl movements of the previous week.

"I don't know, I don't know how it happened, you know? Like I have an AMAZING colon, you don't even know," she practically shouted, waving her arms about in front of her in time with their drunken stumbling. "But last week I seriously only pooped, like, TWO times. Like that can't be healthy, you know? Especially for the amount of Taco Bell I consume."

Haruka let out a genuine laugh, bent over to slap her knee and missed, making her look like she was doing a weird robot-like gesture, and she laughed more. She finally got her hand on her knee and used the other to rub over her eyes and through her bangs. She was practically crying laughing. "Oh my god dude, that's fucking disgusting," she sputtered out through gasps.

"I know. I need to just start doing anal, I've heard it helps," she said casually. "Oh FUCK yes, they have stuffed crust tonight!" she screeched, pointing to the chalkboard sign on the sidewalk outside the pizza parlor, which was a few stores down. Mina ran ahead of Haruka to inspect the sign more closely.

"Oh my god, Mina, that's revolt-" she stopped when she noticed someone through the window of the coffee shop next door to the pizza parlor. She halted in her tracks.

Haruka had never understood why people said their jaws dropped when things happened. Jaw dropping seemed like some weird unnatural expression that only actors did in cheesy movies.

When she saw the girl sitting in the coffee shop, she could have sworn her chin felt the floor.

Suddenly, the flush from the heat and the alcohol spread from her cheeks to her chest, the tips of her ears, her forearms, her core. She felt on fire. The world around the girl blurred, the lights behind her blending together into flared reds and golds and blues. Blue. Her hair was blue. A teal, a cyan, an aquamarine seafoam green blue. It was so weird. It was like, it didn't look dyed, it just cascaded from her roots like a natural waterfall. It held impossibly loose curls, ocean's waves tied up into a sloppy ponytail. Her pale shoulders bloomed beneath like flowers around the pool of the waterfall.

She held one of her incredibly dainty palms against her cheek, her elbow leaning on the wood table in front of her. The other held a dark piece of charcoal, poised against a sketchbook in front of her. If Haruka looked closely, she could see a faint smudge of charcoal beneath the girl's right eye. She shifted a little, a lock of hair falling in front of the smudge, and when her chest heaved, Haruka could have sworn she heard her sigh through the windowpane."-ing," Haruka finished, completely unaware of how long she had been standing there. She knew it must have only been a moment, because the girl had only slightly moved, but it seemed an eternity.

Mina saw the blank look fall across Haruka's face, the taller blonde's eyes widening. "What? Do you want coffee?" she asked, scrunching up her eyebrows in confusion. Haruka didn't answer but continued to stare through the coffee shop window. Mina giggled. "Oh my god, how drunk are you?" she asked, mocking Haruka's dumb gaze until she was at her side, and she saw what Haruka was gawking at.

"Who is that?" Haruka asked, her words an unintentional whisper. She cleared her throat, briefly breaking her gaze to glance at Mina.

Mina let out something between a cackle and a sound of surprise. "No, Haruka," she grabbed Haruka's wrist and attempted to pull her towards the pizza parlor, but Haruka barely flinched.

"Wait, no, who is that?" she asked, turning her head to look at Mina, but keeping her feet planted to the spot in front of the window. She would die there if she had to, if it meant finding out the girl with the waterfall hair's name. "Why 'No, Haruka'?"

Mina let out a long exasperated sigh. "Oh my god," she groaned loudly. "Well fucking FIRST off, you're TECHNICALLY on a date with ME right now, so that's, like, really fucking rude," she said, her voice's pitch changing as rapidly as Haruka's heart was beating.

"We both know this isn't a date anymore," Haruka slurred. "I bought you a beer, remember?"

Mina sighed again. "Point."

"Do you know her?" Haruka asked, her eyes once again latched to the girl, who had finally noticed the insane looking six foot lesbian staring at her through the window. The girl glanced over at Mina awkwardly and gave her a small wave.

"Yeah, kinda," Mina said, waving back at the girl. "She's like… a friend of a friend I guess."

"Oh," Haruka said. "Oh god she's coming over here, what do I do? I'm way too drunk for this," Haruka spilled, turning to Mina with panic in her eyes.

Mina sighed a third sigh, this one short and almost a yell. "Oh my god, just shut up, okay? I know her, I'll talk to her, I'll introduce you, she'll smile politely and do her snooty nose thing, and then we'll get pizza. Please? Can we do that? Get pizza?"

"Yeah, yes, okay, okay, be cool," Haruka squinted, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

Mina scoffed. "Are you saying that to me or yourself?" she asked. She smacked Haruka's hand from her face. "Dude open your eyes and pretend like you're not on the worst date ever right now, stand up straight and stop swaying back and forth like a gay weeble wobble- heeeyyyyyY! Michiru! Oh my god how are you!" Mina stretched her arms out for a visibly awkward hug when the girl with the waterfall hair emerged from the coffee shop, the wooden door creaking to a shut behind her.

Michiru. Michiru.

"Interesting hour for you to be getting coffee, Mina," Michiru commented, flashing a smile that was far bigger in her eyes than was reflected with her mouth. She accepted the hug from a distance, patting Mina on the shoulder. "I thought you only drank hard liquor and women's tears after 6pm."

"Ha, yep, that's me," Mina's laugh sounded forced and sarcastic. She punched Haruka in the arm. "Gonna make this one cry tonight."

Haruka saw an amused look dawn on Michiru's face when she realized they were on a date. "Oh, no, it's not, I, uh, we're getting pizza," she stammered, repeatedly switching the weight on her feet and smoothing her bangs across her face.

"Lovely," Michiru said, not breaking eye contact even as her blue bangs fell into her eyes when she looked up at Haruka. She stood with her hands in the back pocket of her dark jeans. The boatneck collar of her shirt revealed smooth collarbones and the hint of a lavender bra strap on one side.

Haruka cleared her throat when she realized she had been staring for a moment too long. "Yeah, uh, I'm Haruka," she said, and almost stuck her hand out for a handshake but felt Mina swat her hand away and shoot her a glare that said 'what the fuck is wrong with you, don't fucking shake her hand'. She used it instead to smooth her bangs again and tried to still her drunken swaying.

Michiru flashed a smile, one that was different than the one she had been showing Mina. It was luminous, the shine of her teeth reflecting the sparkling cosmos in her eyes. "Lovely," she said again, blinking slowly and raising her eyebrows as if she'd just been told something she already knew. She took a step towards Haruka, shaking her blue hair from her face as she raised her chin up to Haruka's height. "You're quite tall," she said softly. She still had her hands in her back pockets, her shoulders protruding forward ever so. Haruka wanted to sink her teeth into the spot on her shoulder where escaped locks from her ponytail brushed softly. Even the thought had her stomach fluttering. Haruka smiled with a blush, rubbed the back of her neck and shied away from the girl just a little. This made Michiru giggle. "I should probably get back to my sketching."

Mina gagged. "Ooookay, um, nice to see you Michiru," she murmured through the side of her mouth. "But we have an important meeting to attend to," she grabbed the collar of Haruka's flannel and dragged her away towards the pizza parlor.

—

Haruka contemplated what her life had come to when circumstance landed her on Mina's kitchen floor, leaning her back against the cabinet and her head on the smaller blonde's next to her. They sat in silence, mouths full of cold pizza. Haruka's head spun along with the swirling pattern on the tile floor. Or wait, was it swirling? Haruka giggled a little, seemingly waking Mina from a sleep even though she had just been chewing pizza a second ago.

"Oh my god," Mina said, breathing in as if she had just regained consciousness. She chewed a few more times, then looked at the slice of pizza in her hand. "Hawaiian pizza is disGUSTing," she shouted, throwing the slice across the tiled floor before dramatically throwing herself across Haruka's outstretched legs.

"Did you mean what you said before?" Haruka asked, her eyes closed, resting her spinning head against the cabinet.

"Hmm?" Mina grunted against her knee.

Haruka struggled to keep her eyes open. "That we were on the worst date ever," she laughed a little when she felt Mina start to laugh against her leg.

"No dude," the smaller girl lifted herself up with an exaggerated grunt and rubbed her eyes. She breathed a deep breath and sighed. "I think this might have been the best date I've ever been on." She grimaced at Haruka, making her laugh and smooth her hands across her bangs again.

"Me too," Haruka chuckled.

They were silent for a few moments, and Haruka thought Mina might have started falling asleep leaning against the cabinet.

Suddenly, Mina sighed the same heavy sigh again. "Her name is Michiru Kaioh. You can take her number out of my phone if you want," she said. She pushed herself from the kitchen floor to stand, pulled up her jeans as if they were renewing her life, then pointed a finger in Haruka's face. "But on three conditions."

Haruka grinned. "I knew you'd crack eventually."

"Shut the fuck up. You didn't even do anything except eat all my pizza," Mina sneered, her less accusatory hand resting on her hip.

Haruka snorted. "I paid for the-"

"One," Mina interrupted, pointing her first finger up. "You will understand now that she is out of your league, and everyone's league, and her life is fucked up, and I don't advise you to date her."

Haruka scrunched up her eyebrows and laughed a little. "I don't understand, her life is fucked up? How? How is she out of my leag-"

"If you want her number just say you understand," Mina sighed and placed a hand over her eyes as if the conversation was exhausting her. "I don't want you thinking I caused your heartbreak when I have to clean it up three months from now."

Haruka swallowed. She couldn't fathom what could be so wrong with the perfect creature she had encountered earlier. It was obvious Mina wasn't going to tell her without a little prying, but Haruka feared if she pried too much Mina wouldn't give her Michiru's number at all. She had only met these people tonight. If she left Mina's apartment without the number, she might not ever see Michiru again. She didn't think she wouldn't see Mina again, but who knew? "Okay, fine, I understand," she gave in.

"Two, you have breakfast with me and my roommate in the morning and not slip out at sunrise. I hate when boys do that to me," she rolled her eyes and flipped her hair, using an exaggerated valley girl accent, eliciting a snicker from Haruka.

"Yeah, okay, fine," Haruka grinned. It was so confusing how quickly Mina switched back and forth between being completely rude and lovingly needy.

"Three, you never, ever, tell anybody in this mother fucking town that we were on a date," Mina said, waving her arms about. "And if you do that for me, I will make it clear to Michiru that we weren't."

Haruka breathed a drunken giggle through her nose. "Okay, Mina," she said sleepily.

"Goodnight, you fool," Mina said, and she was gone.

Haruka had a fleeting thought as she stumbled to the couch about how small and silly our lives must be if they can change this much in one evening. She closed her eyes and fell asleep to the smell of peaches and the sound of waterfalls.


	3. Reflexes

Haruka's senses were flooded with confusion when she woke up the next morning in Mina's apartment. Before she opened her eyes, she smelled warm cinnamon rolls and vanilla, the scent coaxing her from her pleasant dreams of the ocean. She hadn't had someone make her cinnamon rolls in the morning since her grandma… she opened her eyes and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She blinked a few times, registering the incredibly soft pink fur blanket she was cocooned in, the pillow her head rested on that was actually a giant stuffed banana, and the faint sound of voices from the kitchen. Haruka giggled a little when she remembered where she was and how she ended up here last night. It surprised her how little she wanted to leave.

Haruka raised herself up a bit on her elbows and instantly regretted it, fireworks of pain exploding behind her eyes. She should have drank a lot more water last night. She groaned, fisted her hair, and finally threw the pink blanket aside to find she had somehow lost her pants after she fell asleep on the couch. Whoever brought this blanket out.. had stripped her too? She grabbed her jeans from where they were folded neatly on the coffee table, yanking them on quickly, when she heard the voices from the kitchen begin to raise.

"I'm just saying, how do you know it's her?" a chesty, warm and crackly woman's voice asked. The oven timer went off and Haruka heard someone stomp over to turn it off.

"Makoto. I am not. Saying. I know. Okay?" Haruka heard Mina hitting her hand on the table with every pause in her sentence. She sounded fed up, like they had had this conversation a million times, but she didn't sound very hungover, which pissed Haruka off to no end. "This is the first time I've had the feeling you guys all talk about. You had it with Ami, Usagi with Rei, all that bullshit," the other girl must have made a face when she said that, because Mina hurriedly backtracked. "I mean, obviously it ended up not being bullshit and it was super important and ugh, whatever. I'm just saying, why am I the only one who gets questioned when I have, you know, destiny feelings?"

"Because!" the other girl's smoky voice came again. Haruka couldn't help but think for a moment that the timbre of her angry voice was sexy. "You have literally done this before and made us all look like idiots, Mina." Not as sexy as Michiru's voice, though. Haruka's head pounded as she buckled her belt.

Mina let out a disgusted sigh. "Oh my god dude, you saw that guy. I had to tell him something to get him away from his boyfriend."

"MiiiinaaaaAAAAA," the other girl groaned. "You can't just tell someone lies about their destiny to get your hands on their wieners!" Mina laughed and the other girl sighed. Haruka heard a few slams of the oven door while she searched for her hoodie. It was far chillier in the apartment than the night before, and all Haruka had on was her tank top. Her nipples perked up as a breeze drifted through an open window, carrying the scent of the honeysuckle on the table beneath. Haruka gagged, regretting her last few shots with Mina after they came back from getting pizza. Or had she just been drunk on that girl? Michiru. Haruka breathed in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I'm just saying, I got the feeling. It could be her," Mina said. "No games. I'm being serious Mina right now."

What the hell was it they were talking about?

"How am I supposed to know you didn't just bring her here to fuck her, though, Mina?"

"She didn't fuck me," Haruka spoke up from the living room, slouching over to the doorframe of the kitchen to lean against it. "I mean, if you were talking about me. And actually I'm not so sure she didn't anymore considering I woke up with my pants off." Haruka's voice was gravelly from sleep, her smile gummy and lazy. What the fuck were these crazy girls talking about?

She looked over at the tall girl who the sexy voice belonged to, and recognized her as the girl with the pink oven mitts from the photo, Mina's roommate. Her face had gone blank as if she hadn't realized Haruka could hear them. She widened her eyes at Mina, pausing her hand over the cinnamon rolls she was frosting. Mina shook her head a tiny bit and looked back at Haruka.

"Whoa, nipple patrol," Mina laughed, raising her hand to cover her line of sight to Haruka's chest.

"I can't find my hoodie!" Haruka whined, crossing her arms over her lack of chest.

"Okay, she woke up naked on our couch? I definitely don't believe you now," Makoto mumbled, pulling the milk from the fridge and pouring a few glasses.

"She was whining in her sleep about being hot and needing sunscreen, I had to do something to get her to shut up," Mina held the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. "Ugh, girls with tortured pasts are like, the worst. I could hear her all the way from my room."

"Oh my god, what are you guys talking about?" Haruka raised her voice impatiently. "Why are you acting so weird? Should I be afraid you guys have been plotting to kill me or something?"

Haruka looked back and forth between the two girls. Mina was seated at the kitchen table nibbling her nails, eyes fixed on the tile that turned out to not be the least bit swirly. Makoto was averting her eyes as well, bringing glasses of milk and small pink plates of cinnamon rolls to the table, arranging them around a vase of honeysuckle that matched the one in the living room.

"Okay," Haruka cleared her throat. "Your silence is extremely discomforting and now I'm assuming you're murderers so I should probably leave."

Mina sighed and looked up at Makoto, who finally took the seat across from her at the table. She scooted her chair up to the table and shrugged at Mina.

"Take a seat, Haruka," Mina finally said, gesturing to the chair between them.

"Why, so you can murder me?"

"We aren't murderers!' Makoto said with a suddenly cheery smile. "We're your friends."

"I just met you."

"No, we've known each other for decades!" Makoto waved her hands excitedly. "You're the protector of our princess, and we've been reborn to fight like, a war-"

Mina held out her hand to stop Mako's babbling. "No, no, she's not doing this right. Just take this." Mina threw what looked like a fancy pen at Haruka. Her baseball instinct told her to catch it, but her hands were occupied covering her Twin Peaks, and for all she knew it could have been a bomb or a cursed totem or something, for how weird Mina was acting. She watched it drop on the ground in front of her.

"Wow, okay, so your reflexes aren't that great. We'll work on that," Mina said reassuringly, worriedly side-eyeing Mako.

"Hey! My reflexes are awesome," Haruka was genuinely offended. "What the fuck even is this thing?" She bent down to pick up the small rod that had something like a little metal planet on top. It was heavier than it's size suggested, as if it were made from a very dense metal or a magnet or something. The moment Haruka touched it, a small breeze blew in from the kitchen window. She expected to smell the honeysuckle again, but as she rose with the rod in her hand, she was overcome with the scent of the ocean. It reminded her of breezy days on the beach with her grandma, and another memory… It was faint, but she could vaguely remember a dream she had as a child about a party, where she wore a military uniform and met a beautiful girl with blue hair.

Haruka felt dizzy. She took a step back and smoothed her bangs against her forehead. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and crinkled her eyebrows in thought. It felt as if she had just awoken from a dream still feeling the residual emotions she had been experiencing while asleep, but she couldn't remember what the dream had been about. She felt nauseous. What the fuck was going on?

"Haruka," Mina snapped her fingers a few times from her seat. "Look. This is really weird, I know, but I need you to say, 'Uranus Planet Power' like kind of shouty with that thing in your hand, okay?"

Haruka just stared at her, eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

"Just say it! Everything will make sense when you say it," Mako chimed in, clapping her hands together and nodding reassuringly at Haruka.

"Why?" These girls were insane.

"Dude, look into my eyes," Mina raised her voice and slapped her hand on the table.

Haruka sighed and closed her eyes. She hung her head, feeling simultaneously confused and disappointed. If she did what these insane girls said, there could be two outcomes: one, she would somehow get involved in a deranged magical cult of people who thought metal sticks gave you powers; or two, these girls were crazy but didn't have any magical powers, and the one girl she thought she had a real connection with was just a nut job. She thought maybe they could be ghosts, especially considering the feeling of remembering her dreams, but she squinted and shook her head. She was probably just hungover. She swallowed, licked her lips, raised her head and opened her eyes. She looked at Mina, who had her eyebrows raised as if to say she knew this was crazy.

"Trust me. Please," she said softly but firmly, her mouth in a tight line.

Haruka turned the metal rod over in her hand, it's navy paint so eerily luminescent it glinted in the light. Who even were these people? How had she ended up in this situation? The scent of the ocean was stronger than before. The breeze from the window picked up, and Haruka could have sworn she could feel a spray from the waves on her cheeks. She sighed, rolled her eyes, grasped the rod, and said the words as instructed.

The smell of the ocean and the roar of wind overcame her, and she felt unaware of her surroundings for a brief moment. Her mind felt as if she had fainted, but when she awoke only milliseconds later, she knew she hadn't fallen. Instead, her body suddenly felt incredibly strong, and powerful, and fast, and…. her mind caught up with reality when the breeze drifted around her legs and she looked down, trying to focus her eyes. She blinked and shook her head a few times, her hair falling in her face, but she could still see what was around her waist as it came slowly into focus.

"What the-" Haruka held out the tiny navy skirt that she was suddenly wearing as far (oh my god it was like a napkin) as the material would stretch. She heard a snort of laughter and she whipped her head up to catch Mina with her hand over her mouth. "What the fuck is this?!" Haruka exclaimed. She attempted to dash into the living room to inspect her reflection in the mirror by the door, but one step had her grasping the counter next to her for balance. She looked down and gasped in horror. "What the fuck are these?!" she flailed at the heeled ankle boots strapped to her previously bare feet. She started to breathe quickly. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Someone please tell me what's going on."

"We're superheroes!" Makoto exclaimed She leaped from her seat and pumped her fist in the air a few times, then grinned and stretched her arms out in a 'ta-daaa' fashion. Haruka glared.

"Yeah," Mina said, flashing a radiant smile, not unlike the one she had given Haruka when they had met in the bar. Haruka couldn't believe that had been only yesterday. Mina trotted over and clapped Haruka on the shoulder, tugging a little on the giant bow fastened to the front of this… was this a fucking leotard? "Welcome to the team, Sailor Uranus."

Haruka stared at Mina. Was this a joke? "We are sailors of planets?" she asked, deadpan.

"No dude," Mina laughed. "Look, remember when you were a kid and you wanted to be Batman?"

Haruka thought about the times when her grandma would tie towels around her and Liam's necks and they would fly around her deck, saving troubled Barbies and GI Joes from the perils of backyard boredom. Liam always got to be Batman because he was older, and Haruka never really cared to protest, until Liam started calling her Robin. She was no sidekick. "I always wanted to be Wonder Woman," she said, a small smile finally pooling over her face. She laughed a little and shook her head. This could not be real.

Mina laughed at her goofy grin and Haruka sneered. She threw her hands up. "Hey! Hey! By all means, be Wonder Woman. You don't need your lasso of truth to get me to tell you your ass looks wondrous in that skirt." Mina shot finger guns and Haruka and Makoto sputtered with laughter.

"Well what do you guys get to wear?" Haruka whined.

Makoto cringed. "The same thing basically, but different colors," she sighed. "I have the same problem with the tiny skirt thing. Apparently magical fabric can be made bigger to accommodate my giant tits, but not longer for my height." She tsk'd a few times and took a large bite of cinnamon roll.

"Yeah, I mean, it's basically some cosmic joke," Mina shrugged. "People tend to underestimate our organizational strategies and strength because we're wearing tiny skirts."

Mako took a huge gulp of milk to wash down the cinnamon roll only to replace it with another mouthful. "Honestly it's kind of smart," she chewed with her mouth open. "People do underestimate us, and then we KICK their STUPID butts and it's HILARIOUS." Haruka chuckled as Mako made karate chopping motions to accentuate her words. Pieces of the cinnamon roll in her hand crumbled onto the floor with each swing, but neither Mako nor Mina seemed to mind.

Haruka's smile faded as she thought. "So, we actually have to fight?" she asked. She used to get in fights a lot in high school, usually with girls from other softball teams, but only occasionally while in school in LA. There had been a fight in LA in particular that made Haruka cringe at the thought of having to raise her fists again- one that she had lost terribly and that had led to her eventual return to her hometown. She wondered if it was destiny. She considered telling Mako and Mina about that fight, but decided to keep it to herself. If they wanted to know more about her life they would ask. Perhaps they only considered her their, like, business partner. Once they completed their mission the friendship would dissolve.

"Yeah," Mina raised her eyebrows with a shrug. "Unfortunately," she said. "But don't worry, we have a great team. You will not hinder us in the least." Haruka ignored the dig, remembering the picture in Mina's entryway. Mina had called all those girls her family. Maybe this was more than just business.

"Wellllll, she didn't catch the rod, and she almost fell walking in her boots…" Mako murmured from the corner of her cinnamon roll filled mouth.

"She'll learn," Mina said, and with that she strolled past Haruka down the hallway towards her room. Makoto hopped up and followed.

"Uhhhh, where are you guys going?" Haruka asked, gesturing to her outfit. It was like these girls didn't realize how nuts this nonsense was.

"We have to get ready. We have a meeting today with the rest of the team," Mina called from her room. Haruka could hear her rustling in her closet. "You don't have time to go home first, so you'll have to wear something of mine."

Haruka half sighed and half laughed. At this rate, she was never going home. She briefly thought about the last time she brushed her teeth, but when these clothes had magically appeared on her, her mouth had felt clean, her hair perfectly smooth. She shook her head in disbelief. It was like a bad acid trip. She glanced over at the kitchen table and her stomach grumbled.

"Who's going to eat all these cinnamon rolls?" she called down the hallway. Mako had made about a dozen and had only eaten one herself. Mina hadn't even touched hers.

"Help yourself, Haruka!" Mako popped her head around the corner. "You'll probably have to borrow some of my pants, though. Pipsqueak over here likes to pretend we don't have a good foot on her."

Alright, maybe it was an okay acid trip.

"I heard that, Makoto," Mina shouted threateningly. Haruka heard a crash, then the whir of the fan in the bathroom that came on with the light. "Where the fuck is my flat iron?! UgggGGHHH MAKO, REI IS GOING TO BE THERE MY HAIR CANNOT BE THIS."

Mako giggled and rolled her eyes, then disappeared back down the hallway, using mothering coos to calm Mina's tirade in the bathroom. Haruka smoothed her bangs across her forehead and breathed what felt like the hundredth sigh of the past 24 hours. She had a feeling there were quite a few coming.

She spotted Mina's phone on the counter, the orange rhinestones covering the case glinting in the light the same way the planet rod had. She could smell the breeze of the ocean again, and faintly heard a wind chime tinkle outside, complimenting the gale's sweet breath. Mina had said it would be okay if she took Michiru's number from her phone, right? That was where they had landed? She could barely remember through the drunken haze and whirlwind of a morning. She had the phone in her hand and was texting herself Michiru's number before she even realized what she was doing. The gloves her outfit had come with were making the touch screen incredibly difficult. She painstakingly added her number to Mina's contact list as 'Dorky Butch Softball Player.' Satisfied with her work, she left the glimmering phone where she had found it on the counter, and started down the hall.

"Okay, but like, how do I get this fucking magical leotard off? Like did it just grow out of my skin or what?"


	4. Irresponsibly Late

Haruka had watched an entire episode of Top Gear while waiting for the girls to be ready, their shouts of "We're so fucking late!" and "Sets is going to kill us!" increasing in volume with every commercial break. Finally they stumbled from the hallway, Mina yelling at Haruka to turn the fucking TV off and get her goddamn fucking shoes on.

"The bus is about to leave!" Mako shouted as she ushered them through apartment door hurriedly. "Go! Go! Go!" She pointed down the street towards the bus stop and pulled out her keys to lock the door with her other hand. Mina paused at the start of the sidewalk to frantically tie her sneakers, so Haruka took a free second to admire the exterior of Mina and Mako's apartment in the daytime. Upon stepping outside her senses had been flooded with summer air, the buzz of a lawnmower in the distance the source of the aroma of fresh cut grass in the air. She took a deep breath that turned into a yawn and stretched her arms towards the sky.

The door finally locked, the girls took off down the street. Mina was immediately sprinting, navy converse slapping the pavement and white skirt fluttering in the wind. Haruka was surprised at how fast she was. She wasn't particularly muscular, but her hair whipped Haruka in the face when she flew by. She turned around and winked at Haruka, giving her an incredibly snooty thumbs up. Haruka laughed. She let out another yawn and shook the sleep from her bones, relieved that her headache had finally faded. She lazily picked up speed, knowing she had one thing Mina did not- legs. She quickly caught up to Mina and pulled her red ribbon from her hair as she passed.

"Heyyyyyuhhhhh!" Mina whined, her hair falling into her face as she ran. Haruka could hear her sputtering and spitting when a few blonde strands stuck to her lipgloss. "No fair!"

Haruka slowed to a jog when she reached the bus. "Don't race me!" she shouted to Mina, though she probably would've heard her if she had said it softer. Haruka was surprised to see her only a few paces behind, and Mako only a few after that.

"Who said anything about racing?" Mina raised her eyebrow casually at Haruka when she caught up to her. She snatched her bow from her hand before hopping on the bus. "Get on the bus, Gumby, we're gonna be late."

—

Haruka's mind swam as they made the short trip across town. What was happening? She went on a blind date, got drunk, met the most beautiful girl, slept in a different girl's house, woke up…and transformed into a sparkly sailor schoolgirl? Considering the events of the morning, she should have been concerned, or at least confused. Instead, she blindly followed her small blonde companion to a stranger's house to become a superhero. There were worse things she could have done with a Sunday, she guessed. She glanced over at Mina and Makoto seated in the bench across from her. The girls were both furiously texting. After a few moments of silence, Mina sighed, tossed her phone into the purse on her lap, and turned to Haruka.

"Everything okay?" Haruka raised her eyebrows. The bus jostled the girls a little as it ran over a speed bump.

"We're irresponsibly late," Mina said in a mocking tone and stuck her tongue out at her phone, as if the person she was texting were there to hear her. She rolled her eyes and tutted.

"Where are we going, again?"

Mako set down her phone with a similar sigh. A look of worry passed over her face, but she quickly replaced it with the warm smile Haruka had come to recognize as her resting face. She nudged Mina a few times with her elbow. "Come on Mr. Aino, tell the girl what we're doing today."

Mina vaguely explained that they were taking Haruka to a meeting, where she would meet all the other girls who were known to be their allies, so they could figure out how much she remembered. Remembered about what? Every time Haruka tried to ask a question to make the situation seem less kidnappy, Mina brushed it aside.

"Whose house are we going to?"

"Rei's house. She lives above her grandpa's church."

"Who's Rei?"

"She's the dark haired girl from the picture."

"Oh, is she the leader?"

"No."

"Oh. Are you?"

"Sometimes."

"Oh, are you like, a co-leader?"

"No."

"Oh-"

"I swear to god if you say 'oh' one more time I'm going to shove a rice crispy treat down your throat," Mina snapped. "And don't think I'm joking, Mako keeps them in her bag at all times, for emergencies."

"Mina," Makoto hissed. "You have to be nice to the new girl! What would Setsuna say?"

"Oh, is Setsuna the leader?"

It was a good thing Haruka really liked rice crispy treats.

—

Being late was one of Haruka's least favorite things. She hated coming to classes late, when she would rustle the door and everyone would whip their heads around to see what idiot dorky butch six foot baseball player had interrupted their class this time. It was always her.

Nighttime was Haruka's favorite time. She would sit up in her dorm at UCLA writing stories and poems and even song lyrics sometimes. They were all shitty, full of egotistical self loathing and beautifully heartbreaking love stories. Her notebooks were the only people she let see her broken by her emotions. At night she felt them wrack her being, tearing through her and making her feel lonely and abandoned by her parents. Her mind would toss over every conversation she had had with her ex-girlfriend until she was sick of hearing her voice in her head. Then, in the morning, she would wipe the thoughts away as if her heart were a whiteboard. But her Expo markers were cheap as shit because she got them at the dollar store with her Top Ramen so when she wiped the board clean there was always residue. Residue, residue, residue.

It was morning, she was hungover, she was in a church, and she was late. But Haruka had become a superhero this morning, so nothing mattered. She smiled to herself as she followed Mako and Mina racing hurriedly up the bright red carpeted stairs at the back of the chapel. The church smelled dusty and old, the girls' voices and loud stomping so young and different from their surroundings. They arrived at a pair of large wooden doors.

Mina turned to look at Haruka before pulling the knob open. She raised her eyebrow at her. Haruka couldn't quite place the emotion she was trying to convey, but it made her anxious. Was this real?

Unlike Haruka's days in college, nobody turned to look at her when the girls entered the apartment above the chapel. Instead, the first thing she saw was a flurry of flames in front of Mina's face, weak enough not to singe her hair but close enough that she could feel the heat. Haruka jumped back, alarmed, only to find that the fire was surrounding a girl's hand. She held it like a flaming stop sign, her eyes alight as well, glowering at Mina as the blonde attempted to slip past her and put her purse down.

"Oh, hey Rei," she said casually, as if a girl's hand wasn't on fire in front of her face.

"OH?" the girl's notrils flared. "HEY?" the flame grew. "REI?!" she threw her arms to the side, extinguishing the fire from her hands, but steam still fumed from her ears. "You are thirty minutes late, Mina, ten more than last week!"

Mina pouted. "Mako was late too, Reiiiiiii," she whined and pointed over to Mako, who was hiding behind a small girl with glasses and blue hair.

Haruka had been so alarmed by the fire that she hadn't even noticed the other girl in the living room. She looked around while Rei and Mina argued, taking note of all the religious posters on the wall and the small leather couch that reminded her of her great-grandpa's. It seemed to her like all old peoples' houses were the same. Smelled the same, too. Except her grandma's, but she was different. She sat on a stool by Makoto who made a face at her like sorry we're in trouble and Haruka laughed.

"This is Ami," Mako said, gesturing to the girl on the couch beside her.

"Hey, I'm Haruka," she flashed a gummy grin at the girl, which made her giggle and push up her large, black-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a giant cable-knit sweater, her tiny hands like little petals swallowed by her sleeves.

"Very nice to meet you," she said in the smallest, friendliest voice. "So you're our Sailor Uranus?"

Haruka shrugged and laughed. "Yeah, I guess, I mean, I grew the suit or whatever."

Ami smiled the most genuine closed-mouth smile Haruka had ever seen. Her eyes squinted into nothing and she leaned into Haruka a little, the light from the window casting a beam on her pale face. "Well it's wonderful to meet you, Haruka," she said merrily. "I apologize if our hot head Sailor Mars over there scared you with her pyrotechnics."

"It scared the shit out of me!" Haruka laughed again. "But I guess I have to get used to it if I'm gonna be a superhero." She shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

Ami laughed through her nose and turned to Mako. "Everyone is waiting for us in the dining room, we should get settled in."

"Right!" Mako made a finger gun at her. "I would say we should stay and protect Mina from Rei, but she can take it, if you know what I mean."

Ami giggled. "Hush, Makoto, no dirty jokes during the meeting today!"

Mako's warm voice melted in laughter as they dragged Haruka to the room next door. "I'll only make that promise if you try my rice crispy treats."


	5. Destiny Feelings

Also, I was posting all parts with every new part but if you look in the first tag they're all there connected to part four!

"Take a seat girls, we only have an hour or so until Usagi needs to be in class," a woman with incredibly long, dark hair said from where she stood at the end of the long dining table. Her accent sounded slightly foreign to Haruka, but she couldn't place from where. Mako and Ami sat by each other on the far side, across from a young girl, a tall guy (guy? was he a superhero too?) and the blonde girl with pigtails who she recognized from Mina's photo. Haruka shoved her hands awkwardly in her pockets and leaned back on her heels before deciding to follow and sit by Mako and Ami. "You must be Haruka," the woman said with a smile her way.

"Yeah, uh," Haruka cleared her throat and pulled her chair in. "Hey everyone, I'm Haruka Tenoh."

"You are SO pretty," the girl with pigtails gushed from across the table. She clasped her hands and held them to her round face. "I wish I could pull off short hair and no make-up like that, you are SO beautiful," she sang sweetly, breathing a sigh. "I can't believe we're almost done finding everyone! We only have one girl-"

Haruka raised an intrigued eyebrow as she spoke, but the girl stopped when the door to the dining room creaked open. Mina waltzed in with a casual smile, her hair perfect and shiny, smelling as if she had just freshened her perfume. Rei followed close behind, adjusting her skirt and smoothing her disheveled hair. Her eyes were still on fire like before, but her face masked them with an innocent blush, and she fidgeted with her nails as she took the seat at the opposite end of the table.

"Good, now everyone is here," the dark haired woman took her seat and shuffled a few papers in front of her. "Hotaru, honey, fetch some tea from the kitchen, please." The young girl sitting next to the woman nodded and hopped from her chair, humming softly as she skipped through a swinging door behind Makoto. "Now," the woman cleared her throat. "We have a new scout joining us today," her eyes glimmered with a small smile. "I know it's been a while, but we all know the routine. Let's go round the table and introduce ourselves," she grinned at the group as they shuffled and cleared their throats now that they had to speak. "Everyone be nice and cordial as this is a first impression," she gave a side eyed glare to Mina who threw her hands up in protest and barked an offended scoff.

The woman knowingly smiled in response. It was strange, Haruka thought, she sort of blinked like she was moving ever so slightly in slow motion. Her hair was so dark the light reflected off it and it took on a facade of green. The young girl, Hotaru, her hair had been the same. So dark it was almost violet. Haruka chuckled to herself when she realized she should probably get over thinking these people were odd. She herself had grown a tiny sailor outfit seemingly from her skin earlier this morning. The woman settled in her chair and gestured at the group to begin.

"I can start!" Makoto grinned cheerily. Her raspy mezzo soothed Haruka's nerves. Mako gave Haruka an interesting sense of comfort- it was different than the comfort she felt from Mina. When Mako was in the room she felt safe, like nothing bad would happen as long as she continued speaking. She radiated warmth and always smelled like cookies. Did she wear cookie scented perfume? "I brought cookies," she said, unzipping her rose colored JanSport and pulling out a paper plate covered with plastic.

"I thought you said you brought rice crispies?" Ami giggled, scrunching up her nose to keep her thick glasses in place.

"Those too," Mako pulled out the bag of marshmallow covered heaven and tossed it on the table as well. Everyone instantly snatched up the treats, even the poised and pristine woman at the end of the table. Haruka laughed as she watched the girl with pigtails and the guy next to her fight over a cookie. They all seemed so happy.

"So basically," Mako talked with her mouth full of cookies, holding a hand to her chin to collect crumbs. "I'm Sailor Jupiter, I derive energy from electricity," she smiled and giggled a little, eliciting a snicker from Ami. "I can grow and control plants, and I'm the strongest."

"The supposed strongest," Mina interjected, rolling her eyes.

"Says the pipsqueak who asked me to open the birthday cake vodka for you and Haruka last night," Mako said through a chesty laugh.

"Excuse me- Haruka, you spent the night with Minako?" the woman asked from the end of the table, her perfectly manicured eyebrow raised with intrigue. The girl with pigtails and the guy started whispering to each other furiously, but the woman held up her hand to quiet them. She narrowed her eyes at Mina. "You didn't…"

When Mina didn't answer Rei slammed her hand on the table. "You said you didn't sleep with her and she only stayed over!" she squealed at Mina. Her face went from red with anger to red with embarrassment in an instant, the regret of her outburst all over her face. There was a chorus of whispers from the girls and a faint 'nice' from the guy.

Mina sighed calmly. "Well, we'll just pretend that didn't happen," she shook her bangs from her face, her bow bouncing with equal attitude. "Sets, we didn't, you know." Mina gestured over to Haruka, who shook her head immediately, eyes wide in fright. Was sleeping with the other superheroes not allowed?

The woman breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her finger to her temple. "You girls will be the death of me."

"Annnnywayys," Makoto cleared her throat loudly and Ami giggled again. "I am the STRONGEST and with my suit on I can even lift cars and stuff."

"Yeah, she can," the guy finally spoke up. "It's truly amazing, I've never seen anything quite like it."

"The suits give you extra powers?" Haruka asked the group, brows furrowed.

"Ah," the woman held up a finger. "The suits are crafted to enhance your powers and connect you to your former self. We have yet to discover how they form or where they came from, but upon inspection they seem to be made of materials specific to your home planets."

Haruka cocked her head in confusion as the woman spoke but she gave no further explanation regarding their 'former selves' or 'home planets,' and when she finished Haruka just nodded. She assumed she would probably learn in time, and despite the woman's friendly demeanor she was too intimidated to ask questions.

Mako grinned and tightened her ponytail. "So yeah, I guess that's it for me. So, your turn, Ami?"

"Oh, uh," Ami pulled her sleeves over her hands and scrunched her nose and giggled. "I'm, uh, Sailor Mercury. I, uh," she glanced over at Setsuna. "I derive power from, water, we think. We aren't sure because I can't control it much. But I can, um, control certain technological devices, hardware and software."

"Really?" Haruka said. She was impressed. That was an incredibly dangerous power to hold. "Like, could you hack into a security system and rob a bank?"

Ami thought for a moment and giggled. "I actually could, probably. I've never considered it until now."

Setsuna cleared her throat. "We won't be doing that anytime soon, though." she smiled at Ami.

"No no no, of course not," Ami giggled. "We use our powers for good, Haruka. But I've developed us all communicators and made a few improvements to our outfits."

Haruka smiled a gummy smile. "Awesome. Can you improve the length of my skirt?"

"Oh goodness, I wish," Ami laughed, and the other girls laughed.

"I'm not complaining," the guy grinned and shrugged, eliciting a chorus of boos and hisses from the girls. Mina even crumpled up a paper ball and threw it at his head. The girl in pigtails took his last cookie from his hand and ate it.

"Okay, okay, let's continue," the woman snapped her fingers softly and pointed at Haruka. "You can introduce yourself, Haruka, and tell us a little about yourself."

"Oh, okay, um," Haruka scooted her chair towards the table and smoothed her bangs across her forehead. "Well I'm Haruka Tenoh. And, I'm Sailor Uranus, I guess?" an embarrassed gummy smile crept across her face as suddenly everything interesting about her flew from her head. "Uh… This is my hometown, but I moved to Los Angeles after high school, and I've just come back."

The girl with pigtails gasped. "Did you meet any celebrities in LA?" she squealed. "I've always wanted to go there!"

"No, I went for school actually, on a baseball scholarship." The group responded in a chorus of politely impressed murmurs.

"Now, this morning," the woman leaned her elbows on the table, narrowing her eyes at Haruka. Every time she moved an inch the entire room fell silent. Haruka wondered if it was out of respect or fear. "Rei tells me you transformed."

"She did, we saw it," Mako grinned and bounced in her seat. "She really is Uranus! Mina was right." She made finger guns at Mina across the table and she fired back.

"Describe your transformation to me," the woman said. "What did you feel, smell, see?"

Haruka explained the sensation of a wave overtaking her, the breeze from the window smelling of ocean spray, the wind rushing past her face. She noticed the woman react a little when she mentioned the dream she remembered of being at a ball in a uniform, but she didn't say anything. When Haruka finished she simply nodded, squinted her eyes in thought for a moment, then gestured to Rei to continue the introductions.

Rei unfolded her arms and rested her elbows on the table, bringing her hands to her face to rub her eyes. "Uhhhh, I'm Rei," she said, blinking a few times once she had removed her hands. She sighed. "I'm Sailor Mars. As you saw," she sneered at no one. "I derive my power from fire. I can shoot fire." She raised her hand and a light ignited from her middle finger. "From my hand." The light went out. "Yeah." She glared over at Mina, indicating her turn was now over.

Mina blew a kiss towards Rei (who rolled her eyes) and cleared her throat. "Well, Haruka, you know me as Mario Kart Queen Minako Aino, but here in the Sailor Scouts, as I have coined us, I am Sailor Venus." She struck a statuesque pose, her nose upturned. "I'm the goddess of love and passion and desire."

"So you can make people fall in love with you?" Haruka asked.

"Hah," Rei cackled, arms crossed.

Mina only grinned. "No, I can't. But I can fill people with loving thoughts."

Haruka glanced around for explanation and got none. "Loving thoughts, like, what? I don't understand."

"Memories, Haruka. Sometimes even from other lives," Mina's eyes narrowed in serious contemplation and she uncrossed her legs to scoot up to the table. She cleared her throat and glanced over to the woman for approval before continuing. "I can see things that I may not necessarily understand, but when I make physical contact with someone, they see it too. Sometimes I can make the things I show them very… personal."

Haruka swallowed. "That's fucking scary," she chuckled. This entire room was filled with incredibly dangerous people, who were quiet for a moment as they silently agreed.

The woman cleared her throat and gestured to the pigtailed girl to continue. The girl held up a finger to respond to a text, eliciting a sigh and a small smile from the woman. The young girl with almost violet hair returned from the kitchen with a tray clattering with teacups. She placed a steaming cup in front of each of them, giving a small smile to each of them until finally the pigtailed girl cleared her throat.

"Sorry about that-" her animated face switched from a beaming smile to a worried frown at a rapid pace. "My friend Molly started her first day at Forever 21 today and they told her that lunch breaks are only fifteen minutes!" she sighed and furrowed her brow in distress. "Anyhow, I'm Usagi, and I'm the princess." she flashed her pearly whites at the guy next to her and he returned her grin before she reached her arms out to Haruka. She raised her eyebrows to encourage Haruka to grab her hands, so she did- In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Usagi's hands were warm and soft. "I promise to always bring love and justice to this universe, if you promise to protect and defend me." She widened her eyes as if asking for Haruka's approval, but the woman interjected before she could respond.

"She doesn't need to promise that just yet, Usagi," the woman said, smiling softly. "Give her a month or so, dear."

Usagi exchanged a smile with the guy and nodded to the woman. "Anyway," she said to Haruka, letting go of her hands. "I'm Sailor Moon. I get my power from the moon and from love, I think. But sometimes I feel like I get most of my power from Taco Bell," she cackled and Mina joined her, sending an air high five to each other. She wiped a tear from her eye and nudged the guy next to her. "You go, babe."

"Well okay then," the guy flashed a bright white Hollywood smile. "My name is Mamoru, also known as Tuxedo Mask," he raised his eyebrows and chuckled a little. He reminded Haruka of a 70's talk show host. "I am sworn to the protection of my true love, Sailor Moon." The two exchanged a disgustingly loving look and Haruka raised an eyebrow to hold back her gag, much to the delight of Mina. "I am somehow connected to this planet, er, something, which seems to be our only version of a Sailor Earth."

"He isn't a primary soldier, as you girls are, but his love for Sailor Moon seems to play a large role in our battle," the woman explained. "Tuxedo Mask is mostly a mystery to us, but he has definitely been a loyal ally." She smiled and exchanged a nod with Mamoru.

"I'm Sailor Saturn, the guardian of rebirth and change," the young girl said suddenly from her seat beside the woman, much to Haruka's surprise. She hadn't even noticed her returning to her seat. "My name here is Hotaru," her tiny voice was so soft and sweet, Haruka would think she were a child, but she looked about 14 or 15. She nodded slightly and turned to the woman without any explanation.

"And I am Setsuna," the woman finally said, rising from her seat. "I am Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time. We welcome you to our battle against all that is evil, unjust or wrong. Thank you for joining us, Sailor Uranus." She smiled a shielded smile and bowed slightly to Haruka.

"So, any questions?" Mina grinned from her seat, rubbing her hands together.

Haruka pondered. She had a million questions, but she felt asking them would only lead to even more confusing ones. She looked around at all of the beautiful faces smiling and nodding encouragingly at her and she suddenly felt incredibly joyful and woeful at once. Her life had turned on a dime in a simple 48 hours. Less than, even. What was she going to tell her brother? Liam had never been one for the supernatural, always shooing the 'monsters' from under her bed without fear. Was she allowed to tell him at all? Who exactly were they fighting against? When did they all find each other? Who was Setsuna and where was she from? How many-

And then she noticed it. A previously unfilled chair next to Ami, still pushed into the table. Suddenly, Haruka realized someone was missing.

"Where's Sailor Neptune?" she asked.

Setsuna's eyes widened. The group whispered to each other until she spoke and they instantly fell silent again. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"I mean," Haruka smoothed her bangs and cleared her throat, wondering why she had felt the urge to ask. "Uh," she chuckled. "All the planets are here right?" she gestured around to the girls. "Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus… I'm Uranus, Saturn, Pluto, and this dude is Earth right?" Usagi giggled. "So… where's Neptune?"

The group remained silent save for Usagi's phone, clicking as she typed a text. Setsuna tapped her fingers delicately on the table as she thought, her mouth in a tight line. She finally took a deep breath through her nose and smiled up at everyone. "Okay kids, that's all for today. Everyone outside for an hour of training," the room filled with the sound of rustling backpacks and chairs squeaking. Haruka looked around, thoroughly confused, unsurely rising from her chair. "Except you, Haruka," Setsuna said.

"I'm sure you're feeling very overwhelmed right now," Setsuna finally said. The girls had gone downstairs and out back to 'train,' whatever that meant, and Mamoru had left to take Usagi to her class. Setsuna had taken a moment to gather her thoughts and sip her tea, now probably cold, but her face showed no sign of… anything. Any impression she had of Haruka so far was completely hidden behind a small, polite smile. Haruka felt nervous, so she simply nodded, glancing out the window to the group of girls doing stretches outside, noticing Mina was calling out poses as they moved. Setsuna followed her gaze and her smile widened. "I see you've taken a liking to Venus."

"Oh, Mina?" Haruka laughed and smoothed her bangs across her face. "Yeah she's… something," she looked at Setsuna for a response but she kept her gaze on the backyard. Haruka cleared her throat and shuffled her feet. It felt weird to feel so rattled around all these women. Nervousness was not a personality trait she was known for. "I don't know, I guess it's all kind of blur, to be honest. I've only spent, like, 24 hours with the girl but I feel like she's my sister."

Setsuna grinned, her all-knowing eyes still calm. "I'm glad to hear it. You two have a long history," she chuckled as Mina skipped over to help Rei with her stretches. "Mina seems to think Rei is a hands-on learner."

Haruka laughed. She guessed space superheroes were allowed to have senses of humor, at least.

Setsuna sighed and tore herself from the window, taking a seat at the dining table again. She gestured for Haruka to claim the seat next to her. She sighed another long sigh and took a sip of her tea. Haruka adjusted the sleeves of her white tee, realizing she had been wearing the same clothes as when she met Mina at the restaurant, and she had forgotten her flannel at the girl's house. She wondered when she would be able to take a shower. Or call Liam. Or go home. Was she supposed to stay here?

"This is going to be a big change for you," Setsuna finally said, as if she could hear Haruka's thoughts. "It's going to take some time until you adjust. The only advice I can offer is take it day by day. A significant amount of your power is within you and simply needs to be released."

"Is that what they're out there doing?" Haruka pointed to the window with her thumb. "Trying to release their powers?"

"Essentially, yes," Setsuna shrugged a shoulder gracefully. "Releasing, training, honing, perfecting. They have all come a long way. Usagi especially," she chuckled to herself, then her smile faded with seriousness. "But you are strong, Haruka," she clasped Haruka's left hand with her own. "You are the rebirth of Uranus. You come from an incredibly long line of powerful, swift, just warriors of the wind. You are going to learn at a faster pace than the younger girls, and you will be an essential asset to Mina."

Haruka laughed and raised her eyebrows. "Jesus christ, what have I gotten myself into," she breathed. Setsuna smiled reassuringly.

"It will be difficult to grow accustomed to, but I assure you, what is strange one day is normal the next if you adapt," she released Haruka's hand. "We'll talk more about the past and our origins at our next meeting, okay?"

Haruka nodded with the odd sense that it was all she had done all day. The rush of the morning and the meeting and everything… it was all finally catching up to her and her head felt incredibly heavy. She felt the leftovers of her hangover weighing on her shoulders and the soles of her feet.

"And about Neptune…" Setsuna sighed and returned to the window. "We are still looking for her. She's out there, somewhere, but none of our girls have received a sign yet."

"Like what Mina was saying?" Haruka asked, her head completely clear at the mention of Neptune. She could smell the salt water again. "The destiny feeling, or whatever?"

"Sure," Setsuna said, smiling. She was quiet for a moment, so Haruka began gathering her things, assuming Setsuna wanted her to go downstairs and train. She was almost out the door when Setsuna stopped her with only her eye contact. "If you feel anything like that," she said slowly, her eyes sparkling. "Let me know?"

Haruka took a deep breath in. Yesterday she thought she was going to wake up this morning and start unpacking her college trophies into her new room. She thought she was going to go to lunch with Liam and catch up on their lives. She thought she was going to eat chicken wings all night and meet up with her old school friend, Elsa. She had absolutely no inkling whatsoever that she would end up above a dusty old church discussing her powers and how she was going to save the world. She was just gangly goofy Haruka.

"I wouldn't count on me for any destiny feelings," she said with a throaty laugh, ruffling the wisps of hair around her ears. God, she needed a shower.

Setsuna only smiled again, nodding towards the door to usher Haruka's exit.


	6. Prepare a Face

The setting sun drew long shadows on the hot sidewalk in front of the three girls as they wandered down the street. The smoggy California sky felt so relaxed to Haruka as the August heat began to dissipate with the day, wrapping the girls in a comfortable blanket of oranges and pinks. The faint smells of summer, of sunscreen and honeysuckle and barbecue smoke laced the still evening air. Midsummer's comforting, nostalgic arms gave Haruka great relief from the constant feeling of being in the Twilight Zone.

The girls spoke of their day, full of endless exercises and amazing feats. Pluto asked Haruka to watch and observe the way the girls were learning to coordinate their power as a group. Haruka looked on as a car drove itself into a tree as Mercury controlled it using tiny microchips she had inserted under her fingernails. Mars set the vehicle ablaze- only to have it extinguished by Jupiter, who crushed the car with a boulder. Venus threw a glowing chain around the rock and yanked it towards her, moving it and the smoking car beneath a few inches from the tree, whose broken and singed bark was healed with Jupiter's hands. Pluto would nod in acceptance from the deck where she, Haruka and Hotaru sat. Saturn would wave her small hand and suddenly the boulder and car would be gone- she had only made them exist in their minds, Pluto explained simply, but Haruka just looked on in bewilderment.

All this confused Haruka. All this scared Haruka. But more than any fear or wonderment, this excited Haruka. She couldn't wait for her turn.

"I just can't believe how close we were to my brother's place," Haruka mused. "I must have passed by that church a million times the year before I left for LA, and I never went inside."

Mina hummed in response, a sleepy look in her eyes. She had barely said a word the entire way home. It was the first time Haruka had seen Mina calm down since they met. She always seemed to have an abundance of energy, even when she was drunk- or hungover, for that matter. She had spent the last three hours barking out orders, running back and forth between the girls in the church yard, getting them to push and push and push their abilities to their limits. It must have taken as much out of her mentally as it did physically, because her constant rain of teasing remarks and sarcastic quips had come to a slow as the summer sun set.

"What's that quote John Lennon said?" Mako asked, stretching her muscular arms towards the sky as they strolled. Haruka had seen her do spectacular things with those muscles today, beyond the realm of what she thought was humanly possible. "'There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be?' Something like that.." she spoke through a yawn. Haruka chuckled and nodded at the sidewalk. "Someone must have thought this is where we're all meant to be."

Mina snorted. Haruka turned and saw the birth of a snide remark in the smaller blonde's eyes, but she said nothing, and simply gazed with a far away look at the suburban houses lined to her right.

The girls continued on in sleepy silence until they reached Haruka's brother's house. The familiar sight of the low iron gate and brick columns overgrown with vines made her sigh in relief. Haruka often thought herself immune to homesickness, after moving around constantly as a child and taking off to LA before she could miss her grandma's house, and yet a weight was lifted from her shoulders she wasn't aware she was carrying as she undid the latch on the gate. Mina held her hand up for a high five and grinned at Haruka, resting the other with attitude on her hip. Haruka laughed and reciprocated the five, and when Mina laughed back, she knew Mina was feeling relieved as well. She had basically been on babysitting duty for Haruka ever since their date-slash-trap. Her mission was over. She found Sailor Uranus.

"This is just the beginning," Mako said, her voice rough with evening. Could these girls read her thoughts? Haruka wondered. Mina exchanged a look with Mako that made her think it was possible. "We're meeting for coffee in the morning, if you want to come, Haruka."

Haruka smiled with her gums. As if she had a choice. "See you guys then. Text me and wake me up in the morning." She waved to the girls as she skipped up Liam's walk, the sprinklers on his lawn misting her ankles.

"Yeah I'll text you!" Mina called over her shoulder, Makoto's bouncing ponytail following her down to the bus stop.

"Yeah right, I'll text her, while I'm dragging your ass out of bed at the last minute," Haruka heard Makoto say as she fiddled with her keys. She laughed as she heard Mako yelp in pain when Mina hit her. Venus and Jupiter, she thought to herself in astonishment.

Liam's house was cool, and a breeze drifted in from the open sliding glass door to the backyard. Haruka tossed her keys on the table beside the door and stretched her back, sauntering into the kitchen. She helped herself to a Corona from the fridge and a slice of watermelon from the cutting board on the counter. Her nose followed the scent of barbecue smoke to the backyard, where she found her brother playing air guitar while cooking, the mounted wall speakers blaring what sounded like Weezer.

"When's dinner?!" she yelled over the music, startling Liam out of his guitar solo, sending them both into fits of laughter.

"You asshole!" he shouted, pointing at his sister as he opened up the barbecue to a cloud of smoke. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I went out with that girl, per your demand," Haruka said, gulping her beer and tapping her foot to the music. "Is this Weezer? I don't recognize it."

"Yeah, their old stuff," Liam brushed her distraction off with a wave of his spatula. "Look dude, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want while you're here, but a courtesy text to let me know you aren't locked in some girl's basement would be nice, you know?"

"You're the one who set me up with her, you thought she might be a kidnapper?!" Haruka exclaimed jokingly. If only he knew what she actually turned out to be.

"Point made," he said, and closed the barbecue again. He turned down the music a little so they could talk. "So I'm assuming it went well, then?"

"Yeah, it did, but not in the way you might be thinking," she shrugged her shoulders and cringed, feeling bad that her brother set her up and she didn't score.

"You spent the night there, though?" he sounded puzzled.

"Look at my beautiful family in my beautiful backyard!" a baritone boomed from the house.

The screen door slid open with a rattle and Liam's boyfriend, Oscar, wrapped Haruka in a warm hug. He was still in his scrubs from his workday, but Haruka didn't mind. Oscar was an OR nurse, and had been with Liam for 5 years now. He was so kind and gentle with Liam, and brought in a steady income, which he never held over his boyfriend's head, despite the dry spell Liam had been experiencing with his writing career. He squeezed Haruka and threw her down with a thud, grabbing her cheeks in his big, dark hands. He furrowed his thick eyebrows at her as he inspected her fucked up jeans, sweat stained t-shirt and unwashed hair. "Where the hell have you been, Ruka? Your brother called me at 4 am while I was elbow deep in some spinal spaghetti, asking if I'd heard from you."

"I was out with a girl! That HE made me go out with!" Haruka exclaimed, and Oscar cackled with laughter as he let her go. She finished the last gulp of her beer and took a seat at the patio table. Oscar grabbed a few more beers from the cooler by the door and opened one for Haruka, which she accepted graciously.

"And? How was it?" he prompted eagerly, taking the seat next to her.

"She spent the night!" Liam called from the barbecue.

"Gross," Oscar teased, sipping his beer.

"No no, nothing happened," Haruka laughed, smoothing her bangs across her forehead. "We didn't really have chemistry, like, I don't know, we instantly fell into being friends. So I went to her place and we hung out, and got pizza, and played Mario Kart." She looked back and forth between her brother and Oscar, both with their eyebrows raised. "Really! Nothing happened, she's a really cool chick, I think we're gonna hang out again tomorrow."

Her brother scoffed. "So you really really like her, enough to go to her house, spend the night, spend all day with her today doing god knows what, then make plans to hang out tomorrow…" Liam ticked off each item on his fingers, the spatula hanging from his hand. "and you didn't sleep with her, nor do you plan to?"

"Well, yeah," Haruka shrugged.

"Ruka…" Oscar frowned, setting his beer down.

"What?"

"Is this about Laura?" Dark clouds passed over Haruka's face when he mentioned her name. Oscar flinched, as if Haruka might hit him. "I mean, I hate to mention her, but it's been almost a year and a half, don't you think it's time to move on?" Haruka didn't respond, only fiddled with the label on her beer and sunk lower in her chair, her legs spread out like spider's legs. "Your brother and I just want you to be happy. If you're holding back because of Laur-"

"Don't," Haruka snapped. "Just.." she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Don't say her name again. Look, Mina and I hit it off, really, but there's just no connection there." Besides being moon children and knowing each other in past lives, of course.

The men fell silent, Oscar sipping his beer and Liam tending to dinner. Haruka felt bad, like she had disappointed them, but it was true. She and Mina had no romantic connection, and though Laura hadn't crossed her mind since she had met her, Haruka still felt like a piece of shit for screwing up the date Liam had been so excited for. Oscar was right, they only wanted her to be happy. She thought about telling them that she was a superhero now, but quickly dismissed it as a bad idea. Setsuna hadn't told her not to tell anybody, but Haruka thought that might be because Setsuna knew she wouldn't. So she didn't.

"I did meet this girl, though," she said cautiously, peeking at them from behind her bangs. "At the coffee shop on 3rd, when we went to pick up pizza."

Liam slammed the grill closed, wrapping it's contents that he had transferred to a plate in foil. "Wait, seriously?" he asked. "I recognize that tone of voice. You aren't making her up?"

"No."

"What's her name?" Oscar asked eagerly.

Haruka looked up at the guys again, a blush creeping over her face. "Michiru," she said with a sheepish, gummy smile.

"Oh, god, she's serious," Liam shouted as he flew to the kitchen to set up dinner. "PRAISE THE LORD!" he called from the inside of the house to no one. "HALLELUJAH! LET IT BE KNOWN THERE IS A GOD! MY BABY SISTER FINALLY MET SOMEONE! SHE MIGHT NOT DIE ALONE!"

Haruka laughed, keenly aware of the shape of her phone in her pocket. It had been there all day. She didn't dare touch it, knowing that the minute she did, she wouldn't be able to help but text Michiru. Today had been full of enough stress and anxiety, she didn't need a distraction on top of it all.

"So who is this Michiru?" Oscar asked, grabbing them both another beer. Haruka felt an invigorating buzz from the alcohol, and she realized she hadn't eaten since Mako's cinnamon rolls that morning.

"Uh," Haruka grinned again. She touched a hand to her phone in her pocket. "I don't know, yet. I just.. met her, and she was the most gorgeous thing, it was… it was just really confusing? But I got her number."

"Good grief, lust at first sight," Oscar smiled a genuine smile and tipped his beer at Haruka. "The sustenance of a successful early twenties," he said before taking a drink.

"Yeah, I guess so," Haruka raised her eyebrows, surprised when her brain instantly felt the need to correct him- love at first sight. It wasn't just lust. But that was ridiculous- Haruka didn't believe in love at first sight. She must have been more drunk than she thought.

And she might as well get drunker, which was what she figured as she finished her sixth beer. She caught up with her brother and Oscar's lives as they ate dinner on the patio, the summer breeze whisking through the wind chimes. It reminded her of dinners on her grandma's deck, on summer nights when she'd first met Liam, long before she was a superhero. Oscar told her of Liam's new novella he'd been working on, and she grinned at how enthusiastic he seemed over her brother's work. She was proud. Things were feeling really good for Haruka Tenoh.

So good, in fact, that around 11 pm she decided to call Michiru. She teetered to her room, drunk but not belligerent, feeling more like a superhero than she had all day. She sat on the beanbag chair she'd brought from her dorm at UCLA. It made her laugh, because the chair looked like an island in a sea of boxes and duffel bags. She rest there for a moment, feeling exhausted. She hadn't even begun unpacking. She stumbled a little as she tried to get up again, a few baseball bats falling from the wall next to her. She turned on her phone with confidence, the roaring of the ocean that had been constantly in the back of her mind getting louder with each stroke of her finger on the screen. She stared at the contact she had put in her phone this morning. Michiru. The ocean swelled. She closed her eyes and hovered her finger over the call button. 3… 2… BZZZ. Her phone vibrated in her hand, startling her.

Are you ever going to call me?

It was a text message. From Michiru. From Michiru. From fucking Michiru. How did she get Haruka's number?! Did she know Haruka was about to call her? Haruka felt deceived and scared for a moment, but her competitive side kicked in. Fuck it.

Each ring of the phone felt like years before she finally picked up. "Hello?" she said in a teasing but distracted sounding voice. Haruka could hear music playing in the background.

"Uh, hey," Haruka's voice cracked.

"Who's this?" Michiru asked with a lilt.

Haruka furrowed her brows. "Um, it's Haruka. Tenoh? We uh, met the other night?" She felt her palms sweating.

Michiru laughed a shimmering laugh that made her head dizzy. Haruka chuckled in relief that she was joking, feeling her confident skin growing back. "Oh you do remember me then?"

"Hmm, let's see if I recall," Michiru teased. Haruka heard her biting on something as she spoke, her voice muffled. "Tall? Blonde, I believe?" Haruka grinned and shook her head. She could not believe how adorable this girl was. Michiru took whatever she was chewing on out of her mouth and her voice got closer to the phone. "And, as I recall," she purred. "Very attractive."

Haruka snorted with laughter. This girl. This girl. "Uh," she tried to gather her thoughts. "Thank you. Do you maybe want to go out some time?" She closed her eyes and mouthed prayers to the lord like her brother told her to, since she had been blessed with the bounty of Michiru. She started getting nervous when Michiru said nothing, though she could hear rattling over the phone. "With me, I mean?" she clarified.

"When you say some time, what do you mean exactly?" Michiru asked finally, her voice sounding further from the phone again. Haruka tried to think of what to say but she continued talking. "'There will be time, to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.' Is that the time you're referring to?"

"What?"

Haruka could hear rattling again, then Michiru's voice close to the phone again. It made Haruka nervous when she got close, even when she wasn't there. "Hm," she said, sounding amused. Haruka heard the clicks of her mouth grinning, and it turned her on to no end. "That's T.S. Eliot. I'm disappointed you didn't recognize it."

"Oh! I do now.. uh.. Let us go then, you and I? Right? That one?"

Her laugh sparkled over the phone again. "Yes, that one."

"So.. do you want to, then?" Haruka's head was spinning.

"Yes, I do."

Haruka grinned and tried to hold back her bewildered laughter. "Oh great, good, so, when?"

"Didn't you hear my quote?"

"…Yes?"

"I want to go now."

"…I'm confused."

Michiru sighed an exaggerated sigh. Haruka grinned. "There will be time, to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet," she paused. "I don't want you to prepare a face."

Haruka looked up at the ceiling, so completely perplexed. "I'm a little drunk though."

Michiru laughed through her nose. "Me too."

"Where do you want to go?"

Michiru was quiet for a moment. Haruka heard the music stop and then the jingling of keys in the door. "Text me your address. I'll have my driver there in 10 minutes."

And she hung up.


	7. Smoke and Fairy Lights

Haruka first visited the beach when she was very young- she must've been 7 or 8, because it was right before Liam started living with them. Her grandma had piled all the beach equipment they could salvage from her cluttered garage into the back of her station wagon. She drug out a tattered canopy, a few plastic pails and shovels caked with dirt, an expired bottle of sunscreen, and a tiny blue inner tube which skinny Haruka situated around her waist, careful to buckle her seatbelt gently over the inflatable. They drove to the coast with the windows down.

They laid out in the sun all day, drinking lemonades and trying to keep sand off their towels. Haruka's grandma wore a huge, floppy hat and giant sunglasses. Haruka told her it looked like a disguise and she agreed, saying she liked it that way. She fanned herself with the newspaper she was currently working on a crossword puzzle from and told Haruka she could walk down to the water if she wanted.

Haruka was a little afraid of the ocean, but it smelled so amazing, so she let her feet absorb the warmth of the sand and propel herself down the low curve of the shore. She couldn't believe how cool and soothing the water was, seafoam floating like feathers over her sun kissed feet. By now the sun was fading behind the horizon, washing Haruka's day in lazy pinks and oranges. She noticed a girl waded farther out in the water to her left, in a white sundress. She had dark, long messy hair and freckles sprinkling her skin. Haruka thought she was so beautiful out in the pink water. She carried a blue plastic pail that appeared to be weighted by whatever it was she was looking for. Haruka watched her dip a freckled arm into the water to dig in the sand beneath, only to come back with a dusky green shard of sea glass, which she dropped into her bucket.

Haruka returned to her towel under her grandma's shade, observing the girl in the white dress for some time as she hunted the water. It intrigued Haruka how she didn't mind that the entire bottom half of her dress was soaked with salt water. She felt compelled to wade out in the water and join the girl, but she knew if she took off into the surf with her t-shirt still on her grandma would be pissed. They wouldn't be able to do laundry for another week or so.

She ripped her white shirt from her frame and left it on the towel. Her grandma asked if she was going to get in the water, sounding surprised as she sipped on a vodka lemonade she'd prepared in a large ziplock. Her grandma knew she had been too afraid of being pulled by the tide to wade deeper than her feet, but Haruka gave her no explanation. She just nodded and grinned a gummy smile, a few of her baby teeth missing, and took off down the beach.

She felt her stomach flip as the girl came closer and she slowed when she reached the shore. She looked down at waves as they lapped against her toes. What would she do once she swam out there? Would the freckled girl say something to her? She felt incredibly unsure. Suddenly, she felt the ocean breeze that had been softly tickling her curls all day come to a complete stop. She felt weak and powerless, unable to move her feet further. She felt tears form behind her eyes when the girl's family called to her from the beach to her left. She held her dress as she waded up to the shore, her pail ratting with sea glass. Haruka felt defeated when the girl took a hand of each her mother and father, the latter freeing her hand of her pail and praising her on how much she had collected.

Haruka turned her back on the ocean and the beautiful California sunset behind it, feeling the breeze slowly pick back up, sputtering back to life like someone who had been holding their breath. She realized she had been holding hers as well. She returned to her grandmother who didn't ask why she didn't get in the water, much to Haruka's relief.

Tonight, as Haruka sat drunkenly swaying on Liam's steps, she recalled that day with surprising clarity. Beer always made her nostalgic, and being around her brother made it worse. Thinking about her grandma started to make her sad, and the sadness mixed with the alcohol and nerves already present in her stomach.

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. 11:43. Michiru said ten minutes, so she should be here any second. Haruka's stomach turned. She felt the same way she had on the beach that day, completely and utterly powerless, stuck on this porch between her brother's house and the ocean. She leaned her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands together, tapping her converse against the pavement beneath her, stuck between her past and her future.

She felt a buzz from between her hands and her phone lit up. A text from Mina.

'Rei said you're going out with M. Be careful pls, like seriously.'

Haruka smiled and let out a confused laugh. How did Rei know? Her phone buzzed again.

'Also you looked shit on the way home, hope you took a shower xxx'

Haruka grinned, the calm Mina always brought (always? Had it even been long enough for an always?) soothing her nerves. A strong breeze started to pick up, cooling the sweat formed on her brow. Her damp bangs shifted over her eyes and she shook them from her face, snickering at her phone.

'Yeah, I did. You better explain this stuff with Rei tomorrow morning!' she texted back quickly, her heart thumping in her chest. She felt strong.

She pushed herself up from the steps as the sound of the ocean crashing in her mind began a strain over the summer symphony of frogs on the levee and sprinklers across the street.

Maybe Haruka's grandma had passed. Maybe she hadn't seen her brother much in the past few years, and he'd started a family of his own. Maybe her dad had left her and maybe her mother treated her like shit. Maybe her girlfriend had fucked up her life and left her alone. But now, Haruka knew, as the wind picked up and she saw the headlights of a black car turn onto the street, that she was a superhero. She was a real life superhero now, with a superhero family. Everything that happened before didn't matter. Sure it happened, but why did that mean it was to control what would happen tonight? Haruka grinned and laughed, trying to remember that day on the beach, the memory bleeding into the dreams of the ball and the uniform she had worn. She was Sailor Uranus now. Or maybe she was just drunk. God, this day never ended.

The ocean roared as the car pulled to the curb in front of Liam's walk. She watched through the iron gate as the driver got out of the car to open the back door, presumably for Haruka to get inside. She looked down at her outfit, which she had been confident about only moments ago. She felt silly approaching the driver in her skinny jeans, t-shirt and slightly wrinkled cardigan. The jeans were her only pair without holes, and she had pulled the cardigan from one of her UCLA boxes. She'd hung it in the bathroom as she showered, but some of the wrinkles remained. Whatever, she thought as she pushed open the iron gate and pushed her sleeves up halfway. It was appropriate. She carried her past with her, but it wouldn't define her anymore.

The driver smiled kindly and gestured inside the dark car, and Haruka smiled back. She felt her stomach flip over as she braved facing the girl in the seat next to her. The driver shut the door.

The crown of Michiru's hair shone white-blue, reflecting the moonlight that glowed faintly through the window. The rest cascaded down in that waterfall that'd stopped Haruka in her tracks… a few days ago? A million years ago? She couldn't remember what day it was. She widened her eyes at the curls that rested around her pale collarbone, exposed by the wide neck of her black sweater. When she spoke, it was the most delicate of waves crashing in the distance.

"Hey," she said, pulling Haruka from her trance. She smiled, an amused look in her eyes, her posture incredibly casual.

Haruka grimaced and raised her eyebrows, expressing how bizarre this situation was. "Hey there," she said back. Michiru giggled.

"Mr. Nelson," she called to her driver, who was putting on his seatbelt in the front seat, which was separated from the back by a divider. "This is Haruka Tenoh, she'll be joining us tonight, if you don't mind."

"Of course not little Michi, your friends are my friends," he said merrily. "Where are we off to?"

"The farmhouse, please."

"Of course, little Michi." The driver pressed a button overhead and raised the divider. Haruka could hear the faint sound of an angry girl singer from the speakers in the doors. Streetlights cast moving shadows over Michiru's perfect face as they traveled and she grinned at Haruka.

"I'm really surprised that you said yes," she announced and ran a hand through her hair, the scent of ocean salt and sandalwood invading Haruka's thoughts. Her eyes and smirk were so coy, like she constantly knew what was going through Haruka's mind. "You know, to coming with me this late. It was incredibly… bold of you." She said it like she was teasing her.

"Hm," Haruka hummed in agreement and crinkled her eyebrows, pulling her bottom lip with her teeth as if in great thought. "Yes, I agree… but, I would argue it was even more bold of you to ask me." Michiru seemed amused.

"Ah," a grin crept over her face and she turned towards Haruka, her back leaned against the car door, and a gorgeous white flower of a hand tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. She squinted her eyes and darted her tongue out to wet her lips. Haruka swallowed. "But you're wearing a UCLA sweater, which means, judging by your age, you must be here for the summer. You had me pick you up in, you know, one of the nicer neighborhoods in this Brady Bunch approved petri dish of a town, but it isn't your house, so, your parents. But all the lights were off.. sneaking out of the house must've been hard. That's bold."

"Not my parents," Haruka flinched, smirking at Michiru's mistake.

"Oh, your brother's house, then?" she leaned across Haruka's lap to turn up the music on the console in the car door. Haruka tried not to stare at the brief flash of Michiru's midriff as noisy surf rock flooded her ears.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" she spoke louder over the music as Michiru returned to her seat.

She reached out to tug on one of Haruka's wisps sticking out from behind her ears. "Your curls are so nice, but you used Head & Shoulders when you showered before seeing me. It must not be yours, but it's the men's line, so not a female relative," she leaned into the crook of Haruka's neck and took a small breath. "It still smells so amazing, on you, somehow…" she said into her ear, so she could hear her over the music. Haruka's head spun and she closed her eyes, confused and distracted by Michiru's closeness.

"How did you get my number?" Haruka said into Michiru's ear, keenly aware of how near to touching their knees were.

Michiru smirked, a puff of air from her mouth sending goosebumps down Haruka's neck. "I asked Mina for it."

"Oh, right," Haruka giggled nervously. Michiru reached her hand up, her nails adorned with dark, shimmery green polish. She tugged on Haruka's earlobe, and Haruka felt it between her legs. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"A party," Michiru lilted, giggling a little into the ear she still had a hold of.

Haruka clenched her jaw, laughed, and smiled before she summoned some courage and finally touched the girl's waterfall hair. It felt as heavenly as river water running smoothly over her fingers. She leaned her mouth close to Michiru's ear, her world spinning around her. "Who are you?" she mumbled softly into her ear. She said it quietly enough that it could have been drowned out by the music, but when Mr. Nelson came and opened the car door on Michiru's side she pulled away from Haruka and gave her this look. Haruka couldn't describe it, but it made her feel like Michiru heard her question. It definitely didn't give Haruka any answers.

Michiru jumped out of the car and held out her hand to help Haruka slide out as well. Her loud music bled from the car into the field blanketed by night. Even in the dark, Haruka recognized where they were. This was the old abandoned farmhouse all the rich kids Haruka went to high school with would party at. One of the rich kids that went to the big private school uptown's dad owned it. Haruka had heard about this place a few times but had never actually seen it, mostly because every time she heard about it was when some kid had driven drunk out here or set something on fire. This was never really her scene when she lived at home. But she had seen enough stupid parties full of stupid people with compulsive bad ideas at UCLA to not be afraid of these kids like she was as a teenager.

Then Haruka felt Michiru's hand touch hers as she helped her from the car, and she definitely, definitely felt like a teenager.

The party was a rager. The open field behind the farmhouse was littered with people dancing, fueled by a DJ on a large stage made of wooden pallets. Girls walked by in tiny skirts and butterfly wings, the night sky smothered by a layer of smoke lingering above the crowd. Fairy lights were strung from the the farmhouse to the tops of the DJ's tall speaker stacks, twinkling softly above the crowd. Haruka had never seen a party of such grand scale. Who the fuck plans all of this? How have the cops not shut this place down? Haruka remembered reading about parties like this and assumed a Jay Gatsby incarnate must be inside somewhere.

"This is insane," Haruka muttered to Michiru, because it was her first reaction, but she realized her smile didn't leave her face. Michiru's didn't either.

"I know," she said. Her little smile shined up at Haruka's, framed by her soft waves of teal. Her expression was a mystery and it intrigued Haruka. "Don't worry, let's just get a drink, dance a little, and we'll leave." She put her hands in the back pockets of her black jeans, jutted out her shoulders and grinned a devious smile. Haruka swallowed again.

"Okay," she said, at least she hoped she did, but Michiru had already started to walk away, and the soft movement of her hips made Haruka unaware of her ability to verbalize. She followed the blue haired girl mindlessly into the smoke and fairy lights, her ears filling with shimmering dance music and thumping bass. She had the strongest feeling she was on another planet entirely.

Michiru didn't slow until they reached the perimeter of the crowd, and then she simply pulled a hand from her pocket and held it out behind her for Haruka to hang on to. She didn't even glance behind her to make sure it was Haruka's hand, but Haruka figured if it were her leading she would have been able to tell if it were Michiru's.

They snaked through the sparse crowds around the exterior of the house quickly, until they reached the edge of the back patio, which was crammed with people watching a girl dance with a glowing hula hoop. Michiru exchanged Haruka's hand to her other and brought it over her head, tugging Haruka closer to the back of her in the process. She pulled Haruka's arm so it was around her collar as they squished into the dense crowd, moving towards the large french doors that opened onto the patio from the house. Haruka chewed on her lip, feeling anxious stuffed in this crowd of drunk, sweaty 20-something's. But as the crowd got thicker, Haruka was pushed closer and closer to Michiru, until her frame was pressed completely against hers. The crowd was moving slowly, and they weren't getting anywhere, but Haruka was lost in a world of Michiru.

Their bodies fit perfectly together, in the weirdest of ways, as if they had begun that way and were never intended to be two. Haruka could feel Michiru's heart beating under her hand, her senses invaded by her sea salt hair and vanilla perfume. She tried to play it cool (well, at least, stay standing) as the ocean roared in her head, crashing over and over in time to… Haruka jumped back a little, barely missing the guy behind her's foot. Michiru glanced behind her to make sure she was okay, but the pushy crowd started propelling them towards the door again, so she continued leading them to safety.

Her heartbeat. The ocean she had been imagining, she thought it had been spurred by her transformation into Sailor Uranus. But.. just now, she could have fucking sworn the rhythm of the tide was in perfect sync with Michiru's heartbeat.


	8. Malfunctions

They were in the thick of the crowd until suddenly they weren't and they were inside the farmhouse. It wasn't really a farmhouse, Haruka realized as she glanced around at the glossy wooden floors and posh, modern architecture. It was void of furniture save for a few couches and a couple beer pong tables. The people who owned this place must have been loaded, to have it standing empty in this field. Haruka wondered if the owners knew that people partied out here.

There were still a ton of people inside, but Haruka could finally move around and breathe. She followed Michiru through the shadowy dwelling past a group of people around a keg, then another group around a couch who were all looking up. Haruka slowed as she followed their gaze to the highest wall at the back of the room, where a huge game of Tomb Raider was being projected, controlled by one of the kids on the couch. She gawked at the amazing picture.

"You like Tomb Raider?" Michiru asked, suddenly grinning next to her. She had noticed Haruka stall and gone back to get her.

Haruka laughed, feeling silly she was impressed by all this expensive shit. She'd seen plenty of amazing things in LA. "Oh, yeah, sorry," she gestured forward, not having meant to stop Michiru from getting wherever she was so determined to get.

"Hm," Michiru scoffed over her shoulder as she continued towards a small staircase to their left. "I feel it's a bit over sexualized."

Haruka held back a smile. Michiru was the strangest girl she had ever met. She could never tell whether she was serious or joking. Her face gave away nothing. As Haruka followed the girl with the waterfall hair through the party, she became more and more of a mystery to her. Seeing her world served no explanation, she thought as she glanced around at the frat boys chugging beer and the girls with glow stick bracelets decorating their arms. Haruka watched Michiru calmly push her small frame through the pockets of people and crinkled her blonde eyebrows. With her all black outfit, sober stride, and calm demeanor, she looked as much as an outsider here as Haruka.

They reached a staircase that opened up to a large loft, guarded by a guy in a green parka. He barely looked up from texting as they came up the stairs, his face illuminated by the screen of his phone. "Hey Michi, been a few," he grunted with a nod to Haruka as he let them pass. Who were all these people?

The loft was filled with plush maroon couches, eclectic furniture, and smoke from the giant hookah pipe in the corner. People sat around the pipe on piles of mismatched cushions, and it reminded Haruka of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. It was sort of dark up here, so she squeezed her eyes and shook her head to try and get used to it. Michiru's blue hair still somehow caught the moonlight from the window. She smiled at Haruka. "I just have to get something from my friend, and we'll go dance for a little," she explained to her, and left Haruka by the banister. Haruka watched her take a seat on one of the maroon couches next to a group of quiet people. She leaned in for a hug from a guy in a red jacket and Haruka felt a little stab of jealousy, which she shook off. Obviously she has friends, Haruka. She watched Michiru pull some money from her pocket to hand to the guy, who glanced behind him and replaced the money with something else in her hand. Haruka quickly turned around to lean against the banister.

Was Michiru buying drugs? Haruka didn't care, she didn't think, but was she? Why had she turned around? As soon as the thought crossed her mind she felt the need to give Michiru her privacy. If she was buying drugs, she was trying to hide it from Haruka, right? She could have just told Haruka why she was leading her into the house. Did she think Haruka would disapprove? But if she did think that, why wasn't she hiding it better than this? Was she going to ask her to do them with her? Did she want to-

"Haruka?" Michiru's soft voice startled her and she leapt away from the banister. "You okay?" she asked, looking concerned but a little amused.

"Ha, uh, yeah," Haruka stammered. She smoothed her bangs across her face and bit her lip. "I was just looking down at the party, it's just, really intense."

Michiru looked over the banister down at the sea of beer pong tables, people passed out on couches, people dancing, people mingling. "Intense, yes, I suppose that's fitting."

"Everyone's wearing neon," Haruka said, trying to talk loud enough over the music and chatter. She leaned towards Michiru a little every time she spoke. "Fairy wings, glitter and stuff."

Michiru looked over the crowd again and smiled a little. "I think its to do with the quarter life crisis, you know? Hanging in purgatory between childhood and adulthood," she held out her hand for Haruka to take, so she did. Haruka's ocean roared as their fingers intertwined and the girls started downstairs. "See, they feel the need to relive their childhood fantasies after being forced prematurely into an adult world they can't understand," she speculated, glancing around at the partygoers as they went. "And they need drugs, alcohol, and sex to make it feel normal. Like it isn't weird. Those are the things adults do. Otherwise I suppose they'd just go to Disneyland, right?" she grinned at Haruka. Haruka just blushed.

Michiru pushed them into the crowd spilling outside again. Haruka could feel the bass from the DJ booth outside slowly creeping through her limbs as they inched closer to the throng of dancing people. They stopped by a trailer parked near the patio that Haruka hadn't noticed before, probably because it was surrounded by people. The trailer had beer kegs inside, tapped through the walls, and a guy who looked completely overwhelmed was passing out cups to let people fill. Once they finally got close enough to get their own, Michiru filled two and handed them to Haruka. She took a sip of one and laughed to herself. Coors Light. Mina's sneering face came to Haruka's mind and she laughed a little. Maybe she was delirious from lack of sleep. Michiru filled two more beers and they held them up above their heads as they waded through the crowd to the dance floor.

Four pulse-thumping, sweat-inducing, intensely similar dance songs later, the day finally started to catch up to Haruka. She slowed her dancing to finish her second beer and admire Michiru's moves. She was so graceful and peaceful on the dance floor, even when squished between a circle of tall, sweaty, shirtless frat boys. She kept her sparkling blue iris' hidden with her eyes closed most of the time, but would open them to pull Haruka closer and give her a look that made the blonde's skin catch fire. When Michiru would touch her, she felt electric, invincible, like it was too good to be true. Haruka's head started pounding to punish her for abusing her body the past few days. Subsisting on scarce food and an abundance of alcohol was a skill she'd acquired and perfected in LA; however, it was these abilities that had ruined her and forced her to return home in the first place.

Michiru noticed when Haruka's hips separated from hers and she opened her eyes in worry. "You okay?" she asked over the music.

"Yeah, I think I just need some water," Haruka said. She grimaced and put a hand to her forehead. Fuck, when was the last time she slept? Oh yeah, last night at Mina's.. This had literally been the longest day of her life.

"Come with me," Michiru cooed into Haruka's ear. She took her hand and led her steadily out of the crowd to the backyard, where there was a bar lit by tiki torches. Further behind the house Haruka could see a fire pit with a dozen or so tired dancers relaxing around it. Michiru led her by the hand, the shine of her hair sparkling with the firelight, and stopped at a group of people sprawled out on a navajo style blanket near the fire.

She crouched down to lay a hand on the shoulder of a guy in flannel with thick rimmed glasses who smiled up at her. Michiru whispered something in his ear and stood again.

"Haruka, this is my friend Usman," she grinned and Usman raised his hand as a sweet 'hello'. "Sit with him for a minute and I'll grab us some waters from the bar, okay?"

Haruka nodded and smiled a little. She felt a little awkward talking to Michiru's friends without her, but the pounding in her head barred her from taking another step. She took a seat on the blanket next to Usman, giving a sheepish smile to the group. There were a few other girls on the blanket, all of them dressed in dark colors like Michiru. Haruka wondered if she knew them as well.

Usman smiled kindly at Haruka. "So you've just met Michiru recently?" he asked, his voice rich with an accent. It was smooth and deep, which comforted Haruka's head, having been rattled by shining treble and unnecessarily loud bass on the dance floor.

"Yeah, yesterday actually," Haruka laughed and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Interesting," Usman mused, exchanging a surprised look with the blonde girl next to him. "We saw you on the dance floor. You two seem like you've been together for centuries!"

"Michiru doesn't really bring her girls to the farmhouse," the blonde girl noted. Her girls? "I'm Allysia, by the way. I've known Michiru since high school." She flashed a grin and the firelight flickered in the reflection of her septum piercing. She reached her hand out for a shake and Haruka followed suit.

"Nice to meet you," Haruka smiled a lazy, gummy smile. "I'm Haruka, and… as you can tell, I probably don't belong at this party," Haruka chuckled. Allysia and Usman laughed a little as well, but Haruka could tell they mostly agreed.

"It really is weird though, you make a good point," Usman mumbled, placing a small orange pipe between his lips and lighting it. He took a long drag and spoke through the smoke in his lungs. "Who was the last one she brought? That girl who worked at the church?"

"No, I think it was the one who's in orchestra with her," Allysia furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh wait no, I think it was the nude model."

"Mm! Yeah, I think so," Usman agreed before taking another hit. He offered the pipe to Haruka but she shook her hand in response. "You sure?" he asked, still offering it out to her. "It'll help with your headache."

"No, thanks," Haruka grimaced. "I've had so much beer in the last 48 hours, I think if I smoke I'll pass out," she giggled. Allysia grinned and snorted.

Haruka laid back on the blanket to gaze at the night sky and her head spun, so she closed her eyes. She didn't care if Michiru had dated around, but what did it mean that she took Haruka here on their first date? If this was a date. She hoped they could talk a little soon. As much as grinding her hips on Michiru's pleased Haruka, she was desperate for a normal conversation with this girl. This mysterious girl with the waterfall hair. She still knew nothing about her.

As if on cue, Michiru returned with the waters. She crouched down and hovered her grin over Haruka's closed eyes, but Haruka knew she was there. She always knew when she was there. She heard the ocean roar when Michiru got closer, and she was overcome by the scent of sandalwood and vanilla far before her blue curls tickled her cheeks. She smiled lazily and opened her eyes to meet Michiru's electric blue tide pools, and she smiled back. Her eyes were so dilated, the blue of her iris' was being smothered by her pupils, and the ocean Haruka saw in them was more tumultuous than she expected.

"You okay, skyscraper?" Michiru asked softly. She gently ran a comforting finger down Haruka's shoulder.

"Yeah," Haruka said groggily, and cleared her throat. She sat up slowly, prompting Michiru to stand as well. She rubbed her head and smoothed her bangs, trying to shake the alcohol induced sleepiness from her frame.

"Thanks for taking care of her, Usman," Michiru said, a small smile playing on her lips. "You want a bump for a thank you?"

"Nah, get me next time," he shook his head and raised his orange pipe to salute Michiru.

"I'll take it!" Allysia chirped. Michiru laughed an open laugh that Haruka hadn't heard before, and tossed the girl with the septum ring a tiny ziplock bag.

"See you guys later," Michiru hummed, and with a small graceful wave she took off towards the other side of the backyard, beckoning for Haruka to follow her.

For the third time tonight Haruka followed Michiru with no knowledge of where they were going. She was so exhausted, but she was determined to have at least one conversation with Michiru before heading home. If she ever got home. Was Michiru going to take her back? And when? How many times would Haruka be stuck in some strange place with strange people and no way to get home?

Michiru led her to a trampoline in the grass that was unoccupied, probably because it was so dark out here. The tiki torches' light didn't reach this corner of the lawn, and all that was there to aid Michiru's eyes was the moonlight. She hopped on the trampoline anyway and hopped gently a few times before sitting down. Haruka shuffled her feet and rubbed the back of her neck, trying not to think about Michiru's chest bouncing in her black sweater. Michiru smiled at her sheepish body language and reached out a hand to her.

They lay side by side on the trampoline, Haruka painfully aware of every spot their bodies were touching. The wispy curls that jutted from behind her ears tickled Michiru's turquoise strands. The shoulder of Haruka's crumpled cardigan brushed against her black sweater. The moon was bright, but not so bright that they couldn't see the stars. The party sounded further and further away, the thumping bass and cheers of merriment muffled by the roar of the ocean.

"Tell me something," Michiru said softly, her voice full of that strange mix of awareness and amusement. When she spoke this closely to Haruka it reminded her of when she pulled on her ear in the car. Haruka looked down at her hands folded sweetly over her rising and falling stomach and gulped. Her green nail polish caught the light of the moon.

"What do you want to know?" Haruka murmured breathily through a small laugh.

"Everything," she whispered.

Haruka laughed again. "With my emotional baggage, that could take weeks."

"Good," Michiru said, and Haruka could hear her grin. She was quiet for a moment. Haruka heard a crash from inside the house and a roar of cheers followed it. The frogs croaked merrily from the levee in the distance. "How about I ask you a question, and you answer, and then vice versa?"

Haruka cleared her throat and grinned. "Sounds good."

"Why did you.. come with me tonight?" she inquired.

Haruka took a deep breath through her nose while she thought. She smiled. "Uhhh, that's a good question honestly," she laughed and Michiru giggled, shoving her arm to get her to answer. "I don't know, Michiru.." Haruka stole a shy glance from the girl but she quickly returned her gaze to the moon. "When I met you at the coffee shop, with Mina, I just felt one of those feelings," she laughed when she realized what she was saying. "Destiny feelings, I guess."

"You knew at first sight, I never expected it," Michiru said softly under her breath. Haruka wondered what she meant, but if she had learned one thing about Michiru tonight, it was the more questions you asked the more confusing she was. After everything that had happened to Haruka in the past two days, she was beginning to feel more comfortable in ignorance.

"How do you know Mina?"

Michiru puffed air through her nose and smiled. She raised her eyebrows at Haruka, only to return her sights to the sky again. "We went to high school together."

"You're friends, then?"

She gave her the same look again, but didn't answer, because it was her turn. Haruka shook her head and held in a grin.

"What's your brother's name? The one you're staying with?"

"Liam," Haruka answered, the stars winking at her. She wished she could be on a planet in the sky, looking down at her and Michiru laying on the trampoline. Michiru's heart beat in time with the tide in her head, making her feel calmness she had never known. "He's actually my foster brother. We were in the same foster home, and when my grandma adopted me, I begged her to adopt him, too. A few years later he was living with us, and he's been more of a brother than any real ones I've ever seen," she glanced at Michiru and blushed. "Sorry for rambling, I'm loopy from sleep deprivation."

"No," Michiru asserted, pulling her eyebrows together. She turned onto her side and faced Haruka, propping her head up on her elbow. Haruka stared at her dainty wrist adorned with a black piece of yarn. "Don't apologize for talking, really. Your voice…" she trailed off and the smallest blush crept over her cheeks as she bit her lip and smiled.

Haruka turned over to mimic Michiru's position, resting her head on her hand as well. "What is your family like?"

Michiru's smile quickly faded. "Well, Miss Haruka," she lilted. "They aren't much like me, I can tell you that," she pulled her mouth to one side in thought. "My dad is, I guess what you would call a… hands off dad?" she chuckled bitterly. Haruka gave a little sympathetic smile to encourage her to keep talking. She breathed in deeply through her nose before continuing. "I've probably spent a total of fifteen months with him since I was a baby, and that's just because they used to make me summer in the Hamptons with them. He owns the biggest art dealership on the west coast, but for the past 8 years or so they've been trying to expand east, so he spends the majority of his time in New York."

"And your mom?"

Michiru looked at Haruka and for a moment she thought she wasn't going to answer, but she looked down and shook her head. "We just, don't get along. She doesn't understand me and she'd rather not deal with me. My older brother is getting married, and his wife is essentially her daughter 2.0, without all the malfunctions that came with this model," she laughed a little.

"Malfunctions?" Haruka knitted her eyebrows together. How could anyone think this perfect effervescent ball of light and mystery was lesser?

Michiru simply smiled and shook her head. "My turn, Tenoh," she said, and returned to laying on her back. She hummed a little and tapped her polished finger against her lips as if in great thought. "So you lived here before moving to LA?"

"Yeah," Haruka nodded, joining Michiru on her back. She raised her arms over her head and hung them over the trampoline. The moon had moved a little. Haruka wondered how long they'd been out here, and she spoke through a yawn. "I lived here my whole life," she finished her yawn. "Then my grandma passed away and I got a scholarship for UCLA, so I just ran with it," she cracked her knuckles. "I couldn't get out of here fast enough. Ironically enough, that's also how I felt leaving LA," she smiled.

Michiru hummed in response and pressed herself a little closer to Haruka. She brushed her fingers against Haruka's denim-clad thigh and it sent shivers up her spine. "I think you belong right here," she whispered. To Haruka's surprise, she laid her head on her chest. Haruka felt like she did when she was a kid and her grandma's kitten would snuggle on her while she was laying on the couch. She tried to steady her breathing so Michiru wouldn't get startled and leave. "I'm sorry about your grandmother," she said softly. Haruka felt her voice vibrate against her ribs, and the girl with the waterfall hair's words made her melt into the night. For every person that had said those words to Haruka, at the funeral, at the wake, and every day since- Michiru's were somehow the most genuine.

She dared to reach out a hand and touch the waterfall again, and jesus christ, how soft it was. It was softer and smelled even stronger of ocean salt and vanilla every time. Michiru sighed softly against her chest as she ran her fingers through her hair. Haruka simultaneously felt the roar of the strongest waves her ocean could throw, and the calmness of a clear summer day. Her nerves were on fire. Michiru gently lifted her head and turned towards Haruka, smoothing her bangs across her face, the way she always did to herself, with a green polished finger.

"I love when you do that," she said softly, her breath soft and cool against Haruka's face. She leaned closer and looked deeper into Haruka's eyes than she thought someone could. The ocean crashed against the rocks when she crashed her lips against Haruka's.

Haruka couldn't tell if it was on the beach in her mind or in the backyard of the farmhouse, but she felt the winds pick up speed. Michiru's lips against hers had her drifting in the strong breeze, held down only by the soft moan she let out when Haruka's tongue begged for entrance. As they deepened the kiss, Haruka felt the heavy weight of sleep pulling at the back of her eyes.

She wasn't sure when they stopped, or how she got off the trampoline, or when Mr. Nelson drove her back to her house. She wasn't even sure if Michiru had come with them, or if she was even awake for it all. Her body crashed completely the minute it hit Liam's couch. Fuck trying to get to her room. Her head spun as she drifted out of consciousness, cursing herself over and over for everything she did wrong tonight. If she had only slept more last night, if she had only drank less, maybe if she had done some of Michiru's drugs, she could have stayed on that trampoline with Michiru all night.

Instead, the clock on Liam's blu-ray player read a blurry 2:30 am, and she let herself give in to exhaustion.


	9. Pretty Colors

"And then she said I wasn't a 10, told me my shirt needed to be bleached, and bought me a Coors Light!"

"No, my baby sister did NOT buy you a beer. I mean look at you!"

"Right?!"

"You're definitely a 10."

"Oh gosh, don't- don't inflate her ego any more than it already is…"

Haruka woke with a start at the sound of her brother's throaty laughter from the kitchen. She wiped the drool from her face and blinked her eyes, trying to sit up without falling off the couch. The room spun and the sun streaming in from the curtained windows burned her eyes. She shook her head and rubbed her face, trying to remember who she fucking was, because just a second ago she could have sworn she was laying on the beach next to Michiru playing 20 questions.

Michiru…

Haruka held her head in her hands as last night came swimming back, along with a pounding headache. Her body ached and her ears rang, so she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. She was on Liam's couch. She had safely made it home last night, though she didn't remember how. She did, however, have all of her clothes on, unlike yesterday morning at Mina's…

Mina. That's whose voice was coming from the kitchen. Oh fuck. She was supposed to meet the girls for coffee this morning. One day being a superhero and she had already trashed it.

Haruka released her head from her hands and glanced at the clock, relieved it read 10:00 am and not noon. She shuffled shamefully towards the kitchen, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun through the blinds.

"Ohhh, look who decided to wake up?" Mina taunted from where she was perched on the counter. The room smelled sickeningly sweet, and Haruka recognized the scent from Mina's apartment as her peach perfume. She held back a gag.

Makoto grinned and set down the newspaper she was reading at the kitchen table. "Morning Haruka!"

Haruka grimaced in response.

"I just heard some of the gory details vis a vis your blind date, sis," Liam raised a judgmental eyebrow at Haruka as he pulled the orange juice from the fridge to pour himself a glass. "I have to say, Mina's side of the story is a little disappointing on your half." He took a gulp of his orange juice and handed it to Haruka. She drank it graciously, not caring to respond.

"Don't get me wrong dude, I had a good time," Mina reassured Liam as she kicked her navy converse against the cabinet beneath her. "Would I do it again? No. But.. did something good come of it? Well, probably not. Did I blackmail her into promising me she'd never tell anyone about it? I can neither confirm nor deny. Will Haruka ever go on a date that isn't terrible? I'm not sure! But the POINT-" Mako giggled as Mina carried on. Haruka rolled her eyes and continued drinking her orange juice. "IS, that now Haruka and I are best friends and even though she didn't answer ANY of my texts this morning and is clearly hungover for our coffee date, I choose to forgive her. Because I love her," she pursed her lips, clasped her hands together and pretended to tear up. "I love you Haruka Tenoh!"

"Shut the fuck up, you're just mad because I beat you at Mario Kart," Haruka said over her cup, her voice thick with sleep and OJ, and she grinned through her pounding hangover.

"OHHHHH," Mako called from the table, throwing her hands up in the air.

Haruka grinned at Mako's taunting. "AND I still paid for the pizza, even though I won, because it was still technically a date," she raised her eyebrow, watching as Mina's eyes flickered with laughter despite the scowl on her face. "And you said it was cute, remember? Remember that?" Mina rolled her eyes and held back the tiniest smile. Haruka snorted.

"Okay, stop the gayness, there's already enough gay in the house," Liam asserted, amused by the girls. Mako cackled.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought we were meeting for coffee," Haruka asked Makoto.

"You weren't answering!" Mina shrieked from the counter.

Haruka furrowed her brows and shifted her eyes at Mina in sarcastic irritation but returned her gaze to Mako, as if the small blonde had never spoken. Mina huffed and kicked her legs against the cabinets again. She was so easy to fluster.

Mako chuckled inwardly and folded up the newspaper she had been reading, replaced the rubber band around it and set it back on the counter. Haruka liked how she noticed where it had been before and returned it there without being asked. "You know, if you guys stop fighting we might make it on time, and Rei won't be mad at us, for, like, once," she reminded them, prompting Mina to widen her eyes, hop off the counter and launch towards the door.

"THANK YOU FOR THE HOSPITALITY LIAM, I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY FOR HAVING SUCH A SHIT SISTER," Mina called as she ran out the front door. Makoto followed her at half speed, laughing.

"Yeah thanks Liam, it was nice finally meeting you!" she held the door open for Haruka, who was still frozen in the arch between the living room and kitchen. When she didn't move, Mako made a come on then! gesture and Haruka raised her eyebrows.

"I literally just woke up, I can't go anywhere like this!"

Mako simply patted her rose colored JanSport on her back and said, "I got you."

Haruka had already brushed her teeth with a portable toothbrush and a water bottle by the time they had walked to the bus stop, making sure to spit the water onto the grass, since California was in a drought, after all. As the bus pulled up Makoto put her backpack on her chest and pulled out a spray bottle and comb, the latter of which she started pulling through Haruka's hair roughly without warning.

"Ow, jesus, Mako, you couldn't wait till we were at least on the bus?" she winced and tried to swat away the brunette's hands, but Mako kept a firm grip on her shoulder that told her she shouldn't try fighting.

"You never know who you might see, Haruka," Makoto said, her face incredibly close to Haruka's. She smelled like fudge brownies and flowers. Her warm breath tickled Haruka's nose as she styled her bangs.

"You smell good," Haruka noted as Mako pulled away, returning her tools to her backpack. Her ponytail looked so cute falling around the back of her head as she rummaged through the bag. She paused and raised an eyebrow at Haruka.

"Really?" she asked. Haruka nodded with a gummy grin, the bus pulling up on the street behind her tall friend. The tips of Mako's cheekbones glowed faintly pink and Haruka could have sworn she was blushing. She simply turned around and hid her face in her backpack as they climbed up the steps of the bus.

Mina was incredibly distracted, hurriedly texting someone, repeatedly checking her Instagram and Snapchat. She stumbled getting on the bus, but she just went on texting, without even a flinch. She took the window seat across from Haruka and Mako, much to Haruka's surprise. She would have expected Mina to sit right next to her, berating her the entire ride for being late.

"Take your sweater off," Mako demanded, still digging in her backpack.

Haruka widened her eyes. "Uhh, what?"

Mako laughed. "You're wearing the same thing as last night, I'm assuming," she said, another small blush creeping over her face.

Haruka squinted her eyes and laughed, intrigued by this interaction with Makoto. She hadn't seen much how she behaved on her own without Mina, and she was so much sweeter and more shy when Ami wasn't around giggling at her jokes. "Yeah I guess I am," she agreed with a grin.

"You left your flannel at my house the other night," she said, pulling it from her JanSport after finally finding it beneath her other belongings. "I washed it for you."

Haruka took her shirt with glee, noticing it had been perfectly pressed and folded. She held it to her nose and breathed deeply, recognizing the scent from the jeans she had borrowed from Mako that day. Haruka wondered what kind of laundry detergent she used. It also faintly carried the same peach smell that seemed to haunt the girls' apartment.

Haruka's heart swelled with emotion, heavily reminded of the times she was forced to go to school with the same clothes four days in a row because her grandma couldn't afford to do laundry.

"How did you know I would need this stuff?" she asked.

"Mina told me you were going out on a secret mission last night," Mako giggled, fiddling with the zipper of her backpack. "I knew she was joking but I didn't ask or anything because I just assumed it was a date…" her eyes flickered and she smiled a little. "So I thought you'd need a little pick me up after a tiresome day with us and a night out, you know?" she shrugged.

Haruka crinkled her nose at Mako, unconvinced. She tightened her ponytail and grinned. "Hahaha, oh gosh, jeez, I just saw your flannel on the ground, and I felt bad for it so I washed it with my things. No big deal. Just…" she looked up at Haruka. "..thought you might need it or something."

Haruka beamed. "It's one of my favorite shirts, actually," she mused, tracing a finger over the tortoiseshell buttons. "It was one of Liam's in high school, and he forgot it in his closet when he moved out of my grandma's house."

Mako tilted her head as she listened. Her face always seemed so content. "I love the color of it. Forest green is my favorite color."

"It's Liam's too!"

Mako raised her eyebrows in glee. "He's so nice, your brother!" she giggled. "I don't know how he tolerates Mina, honestly."

"I didn't know they knew each other that well," Haruka said as she buttoned up her flannel and rolled the sleeves to her elbows. It was even softer than before. She wondered if Mako used fabric softener. "All he told me was he met a girl on the dance team that would be 'perfect' for me." She twisted her face up in irony and Mako threw back her head with a throaty laugh.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Actually I think they only met about a week ago, at the dance team spaghetti dinner," she tapped her chin with a pink polished finger. "Mina probably only tried to get close to him to get to you, but she kept saying he was really nice!"

"Wait," Haruka squinted, struggling to remember what Liam had said in the car from the airport. "So she knew I was, you know, a Sailor thing, before the date and everything?" The bus bounced over a speed bump and Haruka glanced at Mina who was in a world of her own on her phone.

"Oh yeah!" Mako cheered. "She came home after the spaghetti dinner, like, SCREAMING 'I found her! I found her!'" she laughed. "I guess she saw a picture of you in Liam's wallet and she 'JUST KNEW'," she giggled again, but her smiled faded and she shrugged as her gaze went out the bus window. "I feel bad I didn't believe her. We had gotten our hopes up so many times. Sets kept telling us about the amazing, incomparable strengths of Uranus and Neptune," she smirked at Haruka. "We were really weak back then, though. We didn't know how to use half our powers. We thought we, like, needed you guys to use them or something, but Setsuna said we didn't."

"You guys are amazing together now," Haruka reassured, remembering how beautiful the vines growing from Mako's hands looked as they healed the tree in the backyard of the church. "And I didn't have anything to do with it." A gummy grin splashed her face.

Mako just nodded, then was quiet for a moment. Haruka could hear Mina tapping on her phone furiously, even over the sound of the bus moving. She was surprised Sailor Venus hadn't butt into their conversation yet, especially at the mention of her name. Maybe she couldn't hear them over the bus.

"You wanna know something weird though?" Mako asked quietly, her eyes guarded.

Haruka nodded curiously and smoothed her bangs across her face.

"Ever since we met you, I've been feeling like I'm getting stronger," she said, her gaze following the blurred trees outside. "It's like we're getting closer to…" she trailed off as she glanced at Haruka and shrugged her shoulders.

Haruka thought. "Did you guys feel like that when you were finding the other girls?" she inquired.

Mako shook her head. "Not until we met Usagi. But she's our princess, so I guess that makes sense."

Haruka couldn't help but smirk at the word princess. It all seemed so silly. But she was Sailor Uranus, so she was in the whirlpool of silliness just like the rest of these fish.

"Mina feels it too," Mako continued. "She told me last night. She said she might know-"

"Don't talk about that, Mako," Mina said loudly from her seat across the bus.

Mako leaned forward, her ponytail falling to the side. "What, Mina?"

Mina spoke with her brows furrowed at her phone, finishing a text. "Remember what Setsuna said?" she sighed deeply and threw her phone in her bag in her lap and scooted to the other side of her seat to face the girls. She raised her hands in 'okay' symbols like she was meditating and mimicked Setsuna's cold manner. "'You all must refrain from speculating amongst yourselves until we are gathered, and we may discuss these speculations together.'" Mako giggled at Mina's attempt at Setsuna's accent.

"Really?" Haruka pondered. "Why did she say that?"

"Because we're always wrong," Mina snorted bitterly.

Mako pulled her lips in a tight line and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, true."

"Like when?" Haruka asked.

"Like when we thought Mina was the princess," Mako mumbled.

Mina threw Makoto a look, but sighed again and shook her head. "Yeah, we were definitely wrong about that one," she stated, readjusting her bow as the bus pulled up to the downtown stop.

Haruka's hangover perpetuated the dull ache behind her eyes, but downtown was beautiful and nostalgic in the late summer breeze that morning, so she breathed in deeply and smiled as they walked the block from the bus stop. She had forgotten how much she had missed her home town. The familiar sounds of singers on the street and bustling traffic brought her the comfort she needed to stop feeling like an alien in her own body. Haruka was surprised that the memories of walking downtown with her grandmother didn't feel odd mixed with these new ones of Mina and Makoto. They sort of felt the same, in a way.

Mina was overjoyed when they spotted the girls sitting around a table through the window of the coffee shop. "Yes!" she shouted, pumping her fists in the air, the buttons of her denim jacket jingling against her purse chain. "Ami isn't here yet, so we aren't late!"

Mako breathed a sigh of relief and followed Mina inside. Haruka followed them, noticing this was the same coffee shop she had met Michiru in front of the other night. She glanced outside the window as they entered and spotted the sign Mina had seen outside the pizza parlor next door. She felt a little sick as the memory of meeting Michiru came flooding back. You're quite tall, she had said. The ocean swelled. Haruka's hand flew to her mouth as she felt last night's Coors Light and the night before's Coors Light and the Coronas she had had at her brother's and no sleep and Hawaiian pizza and superheroes and oh no she was gonna puke-

Haruka ran to the restroom and vomited, barely making it to the toilet. She didn't even bother closing the stall door. Her head went blank and fuzzy like a bad signal on cable as she purged. Her brain just needed five seconds to not think about all this stuff, but she hadn't let herself, so now her brain was punishing her via her body. She did, however, feel the tiniest better after. She washed her hands and inspected her sweaty face in the mirror, her bangs matted against her forehead.

"Ruka, you okay?" Mako's soothing voice floated in from the hallway with a tap tap on the door.

"Yeah," Haruka groaned. "I'll be out in just a sec." She rinsed her mouth and dried her hands, relieved her stomach was empty now. Her reflection looked disgusting, the color drained from her face and all of Mako's hard work on her hair gone to waste, but at least her stomach had stopped turning. Her headache, on the other hand, persisted.

Mako crinkled her eyebrows in worry when Haruka emerged from the bathroom. She was leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her baseball tee.

"Don't worry, I'm okay," Haruka grunted, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "You didn't have to come to my rescue, Mako, I feel bad."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Man, anything to get away from those two," she muttered, jutting a thumb towards the cafe.

Haruka cocked her head in interest and followed the sound of two heated voices arguing over the hustle and bustle of the breakfast rush.

"I don't know why you have to react this way all the time," Mina hissed cavalierly from her seat at the wooden table. She had a leg draped elegantly over the other as she checked her lipgloss in her compact mirror. She tapped the toe of her navy converse against the leg of the table. "You aren't my keeper, Rei."

Rei's nostrils flared in agitation. She stood at the end of the table, her knuckles turning white from gripping the wood. "Are you being serious?!" she screeched. A few customers turned and looked at her so she blinked a few times to calm herself. Her eyes flashed beneath her lashes as she stared at Mina. They seemed to speak a sad language with their eyes, something Rei's hot tongue and Mina's attitude lost in translation.

Mina's toe continued to tap against the table, gradually getting faster, rattling the silverware. She rolled her eyes and snapped her compact closed to face Rei. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

As Haruka followed Mako to the table, she noticed Usagi seated across from Mina. The pigtailed girl widened her eyes at Mina's remark and raised her arms as if to protect herself from Rei's wrath. Rei fumed. "Maybe I'm not your keeper, Mina, but if you're late to every single meeting we have this week Setsuna is going to blame it on me! Again!" her eyebrows were constantly furrowed. Haruka wondered if she was just incessantly angry, or if Mina's behavior warranted these reactions. She supposed superhero meetings were pretty important to be on time for, even if they were at a coffee shop.

Rei visibly calmed herself and took her seat at the end of the table. "I don't know how you think we're going to progress if you continue to act like a child. Usagi is only 18 and even she made it on time!"

"Yeah, I was here before you even, Rei! Aren't you guys proud of me?" Usagi chimed in, grinning expectedly.

"You're doing so great, Usa!" Mako cheered and took a seat beside her. Haruka sat down next to Mina, hoping that if she separated her friend and Rei they would calm down.

Mina sneered. "Oh right, since baaaaby Usagi gets dropped here by her mommy instead of having to get here herself like a fucking adult-"

"Heyyyyyy, I drove myself in Mamo's car today!" Usagi whined. "He's teaching me to drive," she told Haruka, flowers and sunshine spilling from her smile.

"Don't pick on Usagi just because you can't take care of yourself, Mina," Rei muttered, her eyes on the menu in front of her.

"OH MY GOD," Mina raged, slapping her palms against the table. "Ami is like, twenty minutes late and Haruka just threw her brains up in the bathroom, why the fuck are we all picking on Mina?!"

"Just because Ami is late doesn't mean you weren't!" Rei hissed.

The girls were silent for a moment as they all pretended to study the menu. Haruka wondered if Rei and Mina were always like this. She knew there was something going on between them, since they were together last night and talking about her going on a date with Michiru. Not to mention the constant sexual tension between the two girls. But why was Rei always so irritated with her? They were so bizarre.

A waitress with green hair and tattoos came and got their order. Haruka couldn't imagine stomaching anything, but she ordered a bagel anyhow. Makoto ordered something for Ami for when she got there. Rei remained quiet at the end of the table while Usagi and Mako tittered about Usagi's last day at summer school. She was retaking a math class she had failed so she could join the other girls at the community college in the fall.

"Where did you go to high school, Usagi?" Haruka asked, sipping her coffee gingerly.

"Gosh, I always forget you don't even know those things, Ruka," Usagi gushed. "It already feels like we've been sisters forever!"

Haruka matched the girl's grin. She was like a fictional character, like a real princess. From Strawberry Shortcake or something. It baffled Haruka. The world softened and sparkled when Usagi spoke, despite her high pitched voice and constant positivity that would usually sicken Haruka. She felt like she had known this girl for years, the same feeling she got from the other girls, but stronger and with a harder pull on her stomach. She just wanted to wrap her arms around the tiny blonde and make sure she saw nothing bad happen in this world. This shitty world that didn't deserve her.

"It does in a way, I kind of agree," Haruka nodded.

"Usa went to the same high school as Ami and I. The public school on Elm," Mako explained, her elbows together on the table, the straw of her iced tea poised at her lips.

Haruka raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? So did I. You and Ami must have been juniors when I was a senior."

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" Mina snapped her fingers and chimed in. "I went to a softball game there my junior year on a date with this really hot guy, fuck, what was his name, Rei?"

"Uh, Tim, I think?" Rei muttered with a soft smile behind her coffee. "The one with the pants?"

"Oh god, yeah, those fucking pants," Mina rolled her eyes and leaned forward on the table. Whatever grudge the girls had been holding against each other had either been forgiven or forgotten in their silence. "This dude literally wore leather pants and took me to his sister's high school softball game. I shut that down real quick. Such a shame. He really was good looking." Rei giggled. "Anyways," Mina continued, biting her lip to hold back a grin in Rei's direction. "I remember there being a ten foot tall noodle man on the women's team and she fucked shit up on the field that night. Brought her school all the way home at the last second or something. Must've been you, Little League," she jabbed her elbow into Haruka's shoulder.

"I remember that game," Haruka laughed, leaning back as the waitress came to deliver their food. It was the second to last game of the season her senior year. The weather had been perfect. She had just received word of her scholarship being approved for UCLA. "I can't believe you were there… and I didn't know. I can't believe I went to high school with some of you guys and I didn't know." Her smile faded. She might have been able to spare herself the shit she went through with Laura in LA if she had just gotten her head out of softball in high school. She might have been able to meet Mako or Ami and not been so alone her senior year. She could have been a superhero before she had done so many drugs and made so many mistakes.

And yet, she suddenly had such an uncanny bond to these girls, she felt like none of those things had ever happened.

"It's a big town," Mina said softly and knit her eyebrows together, trying to read Haruka's expression. Haruka noticed and smiled weakly. "Don't worry man," she patted Haruka roughly on the back. "Nothing happens by chance. C'est la vie," she said quietly.

"Mina and Rei went to a fancy fancy expensive private high school," Usagi started hesitantly, trying to continue the pleasant conversation when she noticed Haruka's change in demeanor. Haruka liked how she didn't interject or try to pry into Haruka's emotions. She simply carried on and held out her hand to help them carry on with her. "They wore the uniforms and everything. So cute! I'm so jealous, you all look so pretty in the pictures on your wall, Mina."

"Oh the one downtown by the gated houses out there?" Haruka remembered walking around those neighborhoods trick or treating as a kid. Her grandma always took her and Liam to the nice houses so they could get full sized candy bars like the rich kids.

"Yeah, the hell hole in all its glory," Mina grumbled.

"Oh how horrible, you got an amazing education and danced on an international high school team, you spoiled butt face," Mako teased, sticking her tongue out at Mina then replacing it with a laugh.

"Your parents have money, Mina?" Haruka asked curiously. She hoped it didn't sound rude, but she was kind of surprised. She wondered if Mina paid her own rent.

"No," Mina said it like a question and shrugged. "I mean they kind of do, but they have a ton of kids so it's spread a little thin. But when I came back from Europe I lived with my aunt and she was loaded."

"In more ways than one," Rei sighed quietly, curling her lips sympathetically at Mina.

"Yeah, she had about as much blue in her blood as she did xanax and coke," Mina snorted and gulped her water. Usagi hummed to herself sadly and Mako shook her head. "Whatever though, Mako's right. It was a nice school. The people there just sucked."

Haruka had known some of the kids from the private school downtown, mostly from playing them on the field. They didn't really acknowledge her presence, but a few of them did make fun of her behind her back in the locker room for her patched up uniform and outdated equipment. It wasn't like Haruka cared- her grandma had raised her to see herself as equal to those kids. She just chose not to acknowledge them either.

Haruka had recognized a few of them at the party with Michiru last night. None of them payed her a glance. She wondered if the isolation she felt in the farmhouse with Michiru was how Mina felt through high school. Mina was all shiny polished nails and peach perfumed sass now, but maybe she felt as out of place as Haruka had last night with a dozen frat boys and their fairy girls around every corner.

There was a jingle from the front of the restaurant and the girls erupted in a chorus of smiles and greetings when Ami rushed through the door on blue rollerblades, arms full of books, wires spilling from her bag. A few people entered the coffee shop after Ami, and the noise level in the shop increased. It jarred Haruka's head.

"I'm so sorry I'm late guys," Ami's cool, airy voice was laced with adrenaline from rushing. "I skated over here as quickly as I could, but I have a good excuse." She plopped down next to Mako who exchanged a grin with her. She started to undo her skates and Mako seamlessly began helping detach her elbow pads.

"You'd better," Mina condescended. "Or else the fire department over here will burn your house down." She winked at Rei.

"That doesn't even make any sense," Rei muttered, rolling her eyes. She smiled at Ami. "What did you make, Ami?"

"Well, remember that radiation survey meter I was working on a few months ago?" Ami removed her helmet and set it along with her books on the table.

"Yeah, I thought it was for school?" Mako asked, stuffing Ami's elbow and knee pads into her own pink JanSport. Her eyes lit up when Ami spoke, as if what she was saying was the most interesting thing she'd ever heard. Her ponytail swished from side to side as she returned her backpack to the back of her chair and pushed the muffin she'd ordered Ami over to the smaller girl.

"It was," Ami said, taking a breath and widening her eyes at the girls. She rested her hands, their tiny pale fingers adorned with silver rings, on the wood table and leaned in. "Listen you guys," she uttered through a cross between a smile and a cringe. "I had a dream last night."

"Oh shit, really?!" Mina blurted. The girls all shushed her and she held up her hands in regret.

"A dream?" Haruka asked. What was with these girls and dreams and destiny feelings? Haruka just needed an aspirin.

"Yeah, really," Ami breathed. "Look, I don't want to get into too much detail until we're with Setsuna," she opened the flap on her messenger bag and pulled out the device all the wires were hanging from. "But you see these loose cables?" she held out several colored wires with frayed ends on either side of a grey box, the front of which had a meter.

The girls all leaned in and nodded. "Pretty colors, Ami!" Usagi complimented.

Ami smiled that genuine, closed-mouth smile again. Haruka thought she looked like an adorable cherub when she did that. "Thank you, Usagi!" she said. "Now, when I fused these wires originally and used a probe, this worked as a detector for radiation," she lowered her voice even more. "But I had a dream where I ripped the wires out of this meter and fused them, using only my powers, with the stone on the top of my transformation pen," she paused and grinned at the girls, tucking her blue wisps behind her ears. "So I did it."

"Holy fuck, this is huge," Mina rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What happened, Ami?" Usagi squealed as quietly as she could.

"Well the meter jumped, so I knew it was detecting something," she tapped the screen on the box. "I hooked it up to a monitor and found this.. stuff. Matter. Not radiation, but.. Something," she kept her voice low and looked around the cafe. She returned the meter to her messenger bag and folded her hands on the table. "I took the info to the database at school this morning and scanned for matches. Guess how many?" The girls couldn't answer. Ami responded by pointing and counting off each girl. "One, two, three, four, five, six," she said, grinning with her teeth for once, as if it were completely obvious what she was implying.

"I'm confused, the stones from our rods are… putting off an energy you're detecting?" Haruka asked, smoothing her bangs across her face. This stuff sounded like voodoo to her, like the bullshit witchcraft her roommates in LA would do while they watched American Horror Story.

"That's what I thought," Ami said, then removed several sheets of charts that had been pressed in one of her textbooks. "But when I looked at the recorded data, I found that there were large recorded bursts of this 'energy,'" she made air quotes as she spoke. "in six different locations in California at different times." She pointed to each one on the chart. "I mapped the coordinates of the first one, bam, I got it."

She pointed to an address she had written to the side of the chart, her handwriting messy and evidential of her rushed morning.

"My apartment?" Mina gasped.

"Yes," Ami said, eyes wide. She tapped her finger against the address with the emphasis of her words. "Your apartment. Yesterday morning. At approximately 9 a.m. Haruka's awakening." Ami leaned back, in awe of her own discovery. She shook her head in disbelief. "Each of the bursts were at the exact location and time of our first transformations."

"Wow, Ami, that is so incredible," Usagi gushed.

Ami nodded solemnly at the girls, then licked her lips and hesitated to continue. "Except one," she stated bluntly.

"What?" Makoto inquired, the girls buzzing with questions.

"Oh," Mina realized something and nodded her head, putting pieces together in her brain. "Mine, right?" Ami just nodded. Venus got it. "My first transformation was in Europe," Mina explained to Haruka. "You said all the bursts of radiation, -er, energy, the mass, whatever- they were all in California. Right?" She started to sound a little panicked.

"Yes," Ami nodded. She exchanged knowing looks with all the girls except Haruka, to whom she explained: "I believe Sailor Neptune may already be awake."

The girls buzzed with excitement and Mina immediately clapped her hands together to keep them in line. "Hey, hey!" she snapped. "This is really fucking serious you guys," she whisper-shouted. "Okay?! No more talk of this until we meet with Setsuna tonight. Okay?" She made eye contact with each of the girls until they nodded. "Okay Usa?" she said a little softer, but no less authoritative.

"Okay," Usagi, curled her lip in worry. "I hope we find her you guys. I've been getting the feeling like something is going to happen."

"Me too, Usa," Rei reassured the girl softly. "But don't worry, we can handle it, even if we don't find Neptune."

The girls finished their breakfast, chatting in the coffee shop until the breakfast rush had come and gone. Haruka marveled at the way the Sailor Scouts had their lives completely intertwined, each of them on a synchronized schedule with the others. Work, school, training, dance, church, everything- they were all aware of each other's girls pulled out their laptops and reviewed which classes they were taking for the fall semester so they could coordinate. Mina asked Haruka if she was planning on taking any classes at the community college, and she realized she hadn't been thinking about it much. None of the girls chastised her for being unsure. Rei suggested she take one class to get herself adjusted to a new campus, and to her new line of work (saving the universe, or whatever it was they were protecting).

Haruka felt comfortable in a way she hadn't in a long time, if ever. The girls acted as each other's net beneath the tight rope, constantly supporting one another as a web of loving arms. Haruka noticed that Usagi was scheduled to be accompanied by either Mamoru or one of the girls at all times if not at home. She wondered if that was because she was the princess, or because she was the youngest. She wondered if Usagi noticed.

The girls left one by one, first Ami to get back to her research, then Mako for work. Rei excused herself around two to get back to the church. Mamoru came and picked up Usagi to take her home for dinner.

"What about you, Little League?" Mina asked Haruka after hugging Usagi goodbye. "Got another hot date tonight?"

Haruka laughed and gathered her keys and phone from the table, pushing her chair in to join Mina in her exit from the coffee shop. "Nah, I uh," Haruka cleared her throat. She realized she hadn't spoken in a while, as she'd simply been observing her fellow superheroes. "I guess I should probably get home, take a shower, maybe start unpacking…" she stretched her long arms up and tapped the top of doorframe as they left.

"Yeah, you could do that," Mina mused, shading her eyes from the late afternoon sun outside. "Orrrrr, you could go on a totally top secret mission with me." She grinned mischievously at Haruka.

Haruka smiled and groaned. "Oh man, what is it?"

"One day being a Sailor Scout and you're already whining?" Mina chastised. She stomped a navy converse. "Do you accept or deny this mission, soldier?" she jabbed her finger in Haruka's face and crossed her eyes.

Haruka cackled and pushed Mina's shoulders. "Get away from me, creep. I accept."

"As I expected," Mina bantered, and started off down the street toward her apartment.

"Wait, so what's up with you and Rei, dude?" Haruka called to Mina, jogging a little to catch up with her.

Mina side eyed her suspiciously, then adjusted the bow in her hair. She shrugged. "What can I say, the really bitchy ones drive me wild," she said dramatically, and flashed a grin at Haruka. "I'm sure you understand, you were out with the number one bitch on the West Coast last night."

"Okay, and what is up with that?" Haruka continued. "Michiru didn't seem that way at all to me."

"She never does, at first," Mina grunted in a foreboding impression of a witch. She moved her fingers like spiders and cackled.

Haruka laughed. "Dude, be serious with me for like five seconds," she pleaded. A summer breeze blew by and cooled the sweat around her bangs. "Michiru told me she met you in high school. Did you guys date or something?" Mina only made a disgusted face at Haruka. "Awww, did she break your poor little heart, baby Venus?" she teased.

"Shut your filthy whore mouth," Mina growled and pushed Haruka, making her stumble with laughter. "HELL NO, I did not date that succubus."

"Well how do you know her then?"

Mina raised her eyebrows at Haruka and sighed. "Michiru took Rei's virginity, dude."


	10. Act Like a Woman

Mina led Haruka down the same street she had the other night, toward her apartment, the afternoon shoppers downtown washed in pink and pilfered sun in the afternoon. She couldn't believe how quickly the morning and afternoon had gone by. Haruka was curious as to where they were headed, but she had gotten really good at following people and not asking questions, which seemed to be the only way to get results.

"Wait seriously?" Haruka asked, laughing. "That's what you guys have been so mysterious and secretive about? Michiru is Rei's ex-girlfriend?"

Mina made a face at her that halted her laughter. Her mouth formed a tight line and she cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah," she said point blank. "It's not really that funny."

Haruka raised an eyebrow back at her friend, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "I'm sorry," she finally said. She never knew when Mina was serious. She squinted her eyes up at the fading sun above. "What happened?"

Mina adjusted the strap on her cross-body bag, the chain jingling against her denim jacket. "Look, don't let little miss hot tamale fool you, she is a fragile being," she lilted. Her navy converse slapped the sidewalk in unison with Haruka's sneakers. "High school was like, really hard for her," she sighed. "When we met it was like she'd never been outside her church before." Mina struggled to find the right words, chewing on her bottom lip. "And here we were, at a private school, with like, strict teachers and a really hard curriculum."

"She had a hard time with her studies?" Haruka asked.

"No," Mina shrugged. She sighed again and adjusted her bow. Her eyes followed a guy trimming his hedges across the street and she let out a small bitter chuckle. "It was my fault, really. I met her and fucked everything up."

"How so?" Haruka prompted. Mina held up her hand as if to shrug but didn't move her shoulder. "You guys always been the way you are now, or what?"

"What do you mean?" Mina whipped her face towards Haruka.

Haruka laughed nervously and shook her head. "Uhh, I don't know, the fighting? And the.. the sexual tension, er, whatever?"

"Who said there's sexual tension between us?" Mina fretted. "Was it Rei? Did Mako say something to you?"

"No, no," Haruka shook her hand at Mina. "I mean… it's kind of obvious."

Mina scoffed and was quiet for a moment. She adjusted her bag again as they walked. Haruka held out a hand and offered to carry the obviously heavy bag for the smaller blonde, but she batted it away. "You know, I was into Rei the second I met her," Mina admitted finally. She laughed, her eyes lost in memories. "I mean, back then you could have argued I was into anyone the moment I met them, but…" she trailed off. "I mean, I was already Sailor Venus by the time we met. I thought I was fucking invincible. And I saw this helpless, angry, scared girl and I wanted to… help her, you know?"

"Where were you?" Haruka questioned. She nudged a stick with her shoe towards Mina and Mina kicked it mindlessly as they walked.

"Like when we met?" Mina asked. Haruka nodded. Mina squinted her eyes toward the hazy sunset. "We sat next to each other in biology our freshman year," she grinned to herself. "I sat down and said, ''ello, I'm Mina, I just spent the last two years in England so forgive me if my hair smells like biscuits,'" she chortled in a bad cockney accent. Haruka smiled with her gums and smoothed her bangs. Mina laughed at her own jokes a lot. "She just sneered at me. I adored her."

Mina sighed as they continued their walk, their shadows stretching and fading to the right. "She didn't adore me, though," she added with a lilt and a half-ass shrug.

"What, she didn't like you back?"

Mina smiled but kept her eyes on her shoes. "I wouldn't say that," she said quietly. "Rei and I have this thing, I don't know. At first I thought it was that I was into her and she was trying to be straight. Back then Rei still thought she was straight, I mean, being raised in a church and everything. She had never even questioned it."

"Her sexuality?" Haruka pondered, knitting her dusty blonde eyebrows together.

"Anything, man," Mina shook her head. "Like I said, it was like she had never left her church before. All she knew was, like, faith, family, structure, order, discipline… tradition," Mina karate chopped into her palm with each word for emphasis. "Our teacher made us partners in class, so we studied a few times at her grandpa's apartment, and," she paused and started laughing. "I was just merciless dude. I flustered that girl to no end. But we were young, and I was just fucking around, so it wasn't like we ever really addressed our feelings. We just skirted around them," she shoved her hands in her jacket's pockets. "I would flirt with her, she'd act like she didn't hear it. She'd just pretend to think I was annoying and she hated studying with me."

"How did you know she didn't?"

Mina rolled her eyes at Haruka. "I mean yeah, okay, maybe she thinks I'm a little annoying, I mean, doesn't everyone?" She kept walking without continuing so Haruka raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" she threw her hands up. "We had our moments, dude. We have them all the time. For five seconds, she lets her guard down and lets me care about her, you know? She stops… pushing."

"Yeah totally," Haruka nodded. Mina didn't look like she thought Haruka understood. "I get what you're saying, really," Haruka chewed on her lip and tried to think of the right words to use to get Mina to keep talking. Mina always had her game face on, and finally for one second she had taken it off for Haruka. She wasn't going to let her put it right back on. "It's like, all you wanna do is make her realize how much you care, what you would do for her. All you want is recognition of your feelings."

Mina cocked her head as a tiny smirk crept across her face. "Yeah, Little League, it was kinda like that," she mused.

"So what happened?" Haruka asked after a moment. Mina hesitated. Haruka had never met a girl who talked so much and said so little. Mina was almost as cryptic as Michiru, yet it seemed like she never shut up. "I mean you said Rei isn't straight right? And she dated Michiru?"

Mina shook her head. "Yeah," she grunted and cracked her knuckles. "Well we were biology partners all freshman year, right?" Haruka nodded. "And… I swear to you dude, it was just so weird. I had this connection to her. Every day, all I looked forward to was going to that stupid church and sitting there listening to her berate me. For being late, for being loud, for being obnoxious. I loved it. And in some weird, fucked up way, I knew she loved it too. It was like she got off on that shit."

"You guys were young," Haruka shrugged.

"Yeah," Mina agreed. She stole a glance at Haruka and for a minute she looked like she might stop talking, or like she regretted what she'd said, but she continued anyhow. "Anyways… the summer after freshman year she started having these… nightmares. She didn't have a cell phone, but I did, so she would call me on her grandpa's house phone in the middle of the night, just, bawling dude. I would get on my bike and just ride as fast as I fucking could to the church. I'd just tell her 'stay on the phone, I'll be right there' and it would calm her down. I'd get there and… she'd be a wreck. She still won't tell me what it was she was seeing back then, but whatever it was, it was fucked up. She would just be laying on the floor of the kitchen by the phone, just.. a mess."

"Jesus," Haruka breathed. "Was it because she was Sailor Mars?"

"Yeah I think so," Mina mused, her gaze wandering across the street as they passed a park littered with kids playing. She sighed a heavy sigh and for the first time, Haruka thought she could see tears forming in Mina's eyes. "I think I fucked her up when I met her, I dunno. I wasn't supposed to meet her yet, it made her, like, leak into the space world before she was ready."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Haruka reassured her small blonde friend, though really she had no idea. All this stuff about being space soldiers and having visions made her feel a little sick, like it was a cult someone was trying to suck her into, yet she was the one who had an imaginary ocean roaring in her brain whenever the girl with the waterfall hair was around. Maybe it was all voodoo, but even if it was, it was real. She'd seen it with her own two eyes.

"Maybe not," Mina mumbled with a shrug. She sniffed. "Anyways, it kept happening, and it just kept getting worse. Ironically enough, the worse her nightmares got, the more she wanted to be around me. Suddenly, I was, like, her protector. I was her only friend at school. We were together constantly. And then one day we went to the mall together and she bumped into this girl with blonde pigtails in the dressing room. She came out of there white as a sheet, and I just knew she knew. She was Sailor Mars."

"Woah," Haruka marveled. "She didn't even need the pen?"

"No, I mean, she still needed the pen to transform, we all do. But that night, instead of a nightmare, she had a dream that we defeated the evil together, in uniform, side by side. The next morning she was sick from school, so I came by the church to see if she was okay, and Sets was waiting outside the gate for me."

"She knew?" Haruka asked, wide-eyed. "How?"

"Dude, I don't fucking know," Mina threw up her hands exasperatedly. "If I asked how Setsuna knew shit half the time I think about it, I would be a confused ass mother fucker. She can control time, dude, I don't know, she just knows everything."

"That's crazy," Haruka muttered.

"Yeah," Mina chuckled in agreement, readjusting her bag. "How do you think I feel? She just showed up at my window one night in Europe, and told me I was a soldier from space and I needed to help her find our princess."

"Holy shit man," Haruka laughed with bewilderment. "If that'd been me, I would've just screamed and hid under my blankets."

"Yeah, well, I guess that's why I'm the commanding officer and you aren't, huh Uranus?" Mina teased, prodding Haruka's side, her tiny fingers absorbed by Haruka's flannel. Haruka laughed. "Honestly, I was stoked. I mean, my life sucked. My parents sucked, my siblings sucked, and I was about to start high school in a country I'd never even visited before. Setsuna came in and offered me a way out. She even posed as a scout for exceptional students to convince my parents to let me go. She got my aunt to let me stay with her, which was a bust, but dude, I got to go home. It was destiny," she paused and took a long breath. "You know, if there's any advice I can give you through this whole thing, just… don't fight destiny. Let it happen."

"Mm," Haruka hummed in acknowledgement. "So Rei found Usagi, and you guys had your princess?"

"Well, yes and no," Mina moved her head from side to side. "Rei told Setsuna about bumping into the girl in the dressing room but we didn't know who she was. Setsuna knows things, but she always made it clear that it was our job to find each other. I don't know why, it just is. So we looked for her for a while before Rei found her and woke her up. We had to find the other girls first, I think. Kind of a good thing too, because when she first bumped into her she was like 14, and she's barely even ready now, so back then…"

"Right," Haruka said, though she didn't really get what Mina meant. She was always mentioning how much Usagi had changed, how far she had come, but Haruka saw only purity and goodness radiating from Usagi. Perhaps, however, that was what Mina was referring to.

"So we spent a lot of time just the two of us, Rei and I," Mina continued. "Training, learning, looking for Usagi. Looking for the other girls. It was hard. Really hard," she bit her lip before she spoke again. "One day while I was training my power, I screwed up." She squinted at her shoes, the ends of the laces click-clacking against the sidewalk as she walked.

"How?" Haruka prompted her.

"Remember how I told you I can show people things? Make them remember things?" Mina asked cautiously, as if she thought Haruka would get confused. Maybe it confused Mina too. Haruka nodded anyhow. "Well, back then I didn't have very much control over it. Now I can just touch somebody, make them see exactly what I want them to. Back then I would touch someone to make them feel something, but what I felt would leak in too. Like I would touch my mom and make her remember being a kid swinging out front of her father's house, but then I would accidentally make her remember leaving me in the grocery store on accident when I was a baby. My subconscious still felt bad about it, so it leaked in, you know?"

"Huh," Haruka thought, smoothing her bangs across her forehead. What an intense power. Mina could basically manipulate anyone into thinking what she wanted them to. Haruka wondered if Mina had done it to her before. She glanced down at Mina's denim-clad elbow that occasionally brushed her own as they walked. Maybe she was doing it now. "That's so insane, man."

"Anyways, one day Rei and I were just fucking around with our powers, and I pushed myself too hard. All my feelings for her leaked out," Mina sneered and shook her head. "She just ran. She was so scared. She was only 16, she'd never had a girlfriend, had never even considered it. At least, let herself consider it. Long story short, she spent our entire sophomore year trying to pray the gay away. When that didn't work and she finally resolved that she liked girls, we'd been looking for Usagi for a full year, and we fought our first big fight."

"Wait, weren't you guys fighting all the time?" Haruka asked.

"No dude," Mina glanced up at Haruka, her eyes painted with solemnity. "Like, using our powers against evil fight."

Haruka's stomach turned. She felt like she kept forgetting that these girls actually fought something, though it was always in the back of her mind. Would they know if something was going to happen beforehand? How was she supposed to know what to do? Haruka could defend herself with her fists no problem, but she had a feeling that wasn't going to be enough.

Mina must have noticed the concerned look on her face, because she reached up and patted Haruka firmly on the back. "Don't worry dude, it's not as bad as you might think," she said. "You'll feel better after talking to Setsuna tonight."

The thought of seeing Setsuna and the rest of the girls tonight made her stomach turn even more. For the first time since she'd discovered she was Sailor Uranus, she felt a little sad that she wasn't going to get to spend her autumn lazing in Liam's backyard, reconnecting with her old hometown friends. She had a sort of job now, she guessed. The feeling was fleeting, though, smothered by the strange dreams (dreams? memories? she wasn't sure anymore. They were ever present in the back of her mind but they weren't recollections of real experience) of being dressed in a uniform adorned so many medals it was heavy against her breast. Whenever these dormant thoughts weaved through her stream of consciousness she felt a tug at her heart, the same tug she felt when Usagi was near. She supposed it was superhero's instinct, to protect what is thine own.

The girls shared a comfortable silence for a moment, the ticking of sprinklers on lawns an off beat metronome to their sneakers slapping the sidewalk. Mina pulled out her phone to check the time and sighed.

"We should've just taken the bus, I guess, it's taking us longer to get there than I thought," she mused.

"Get where?"

Haruka wasn't sure if Mina heard her, because the smaller blonde didn't answer, she simply put her phone away and continued with her story as if the hiatus hadn't happened.

"Anyways," she lifted the strap of her bag from her shoulder to pull her hair out that was stuck beneath it. "So it was the summer before Junior year, and we'd been training with Setsuna and stuff, but we'd never actually had to fight, you know?"

"Mm," Haruka nodded, stifling a yawn. Her early morning hangover had worn off and she was left with mere exhaustion.

"Sets showed up at my window at like, three in the fucking morning, as per usual, and she just said 'It's time, Venus' and had me transform," she chewed her bottom lip. "So Mars, Mercury and I showed up at this flower shop where a bunch of flowers had like, turned into flower monsters-"

Haruka couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "Flower monsters?" she flinched when Mina glared back at her.

"Shut uuuup!" Mina shoved Haruka, but cracked a smile herself. "It sounds dumb as fuck I know, but seriously, it was crazy…" she rolled her eyes when Haruka didn't stop laughing. "Ugh, whatever, point is, I threw myself in front of her when she was about to get killed. Is it so funny now?"

Haruka shut up like Mina told her to and the smiled faded from her face as she imagined poor 16 year old Rei, all beat up and stung with poison ivy, cowering in fear from a real life monster. She thought of tiny, bony 16 year old Mina, filled with such unearthly love, enough to sacrifice her own life for her. Haruka's dusky blonde eyelashes cast afternoon shadows on her cheeks and she looked down at the sidewalk. She'd never seen a love like that. A love that made you willing to sacrifice your own life. Only in the movies. She wondered if Oscar would do that for Liam. She wondered if Laura would have done that for her. And in the back of Haruka's mind, foggy behind the echoes of stringing violins and flares of shimmering chandeliers, in the dream where she wore a suit littered with medals, she thought there was a girl with waterfall hair who would have done that for her…

"It was… awful," Mina said after some time. Haruka noticed Mina observing her face as she lost herself in thought. In the short time she had known Mina, she'd begun to feel like the girl with the red bow could tell when Haruka was had strayed too far in her head, and always seemed to wait just the right amount of time until she found herself. "Rei was down," she said. "Like down for the fucking count, she was about to die dude. Right there in front of me. She was just bleeding and bleeding and a monster went for her and I just didn't think, I just didn't, I just…." Mina shivered despite the late summer heat. She shook her head, her bangs bouncing with her bow, her eyes searching her surroundings, as if desperate to see anything but the fires in her head.

They stopped to wait for a crosswalk, and Haruka realized they had walked to a park she used to come to with Liam on their scooters. It wasn't far from her grandma's old house, which meant it was on the less populated side of town. With the sun setting and night approaching, the park was empty, trees swaying in the lonely summer wind.

"Well, we're here," Mina said, inhaling sharply.

"The park?" Haruka asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Mina said. She rubbed her cheeks with her small palms and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them Haruka could see the mask forming itself back over her face. "I used to come here with Rei to train my powers in high school, before we started meeting at the church."

The light turned green and Haruka followed Mina's brisk walk across the street. It was as if she had completely forgotten what they'd been talking about- Haruka could see it in her stride. She was all business now. She started to lead Haruka toward the basketball courts.

"Wait, but what happened with you and Rei?" Haruka asked, three steps behind Mina. She had asked that question a million fucking times by now, and she still felt no closer to the answer.

Mina hummed nonchalantly and tossed her bag to the ground by the basketball hoop. "I'll tell you what, you give me one hour of hard work and I'll show you," she countered. She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "That's an order, soldier."

The minute Mina said those words Haruka again saw flashes of the ball and her heavy uniform, again heard the roaring of the ocean, and she thought Mina might have been there too, but she blinked and it was gone.

"Uh, sure," she said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans and rocking back on her heels. "I'm game. You wanna shoot some hoops?" she asked sarcastically, gesturing to Mina's bag on the ground with a grin. "You got a ball in there or what?"

"Ha!" Mina pretended to laugh, then shot a dirty look at Haruka. "No. Did you bring your transformation pen?"

Haruka had, so she pulled it from her back pocket. She had no idea why she'd brought it- in fact, she didn't even remember putting it in her pocket, but there it was, next to her phone. She pulled them both out, showing the heavy navy and gold rod to Mina.

"Good," Mina approved. "You transform while I set this stuff up." She crouched by her bag and started rifling through it.

Haruka felt stupid raising her arm above her head, wand in hand, but she said the words Mina had told her to say the other morning with confidence anyhow. Uranus Planet Power. She was doing this now. Again, she felt the dizzying rush of wind, the instantaneous swell of the ocean. In the brief unconscious state she fell into (she assumed this was when she grew the uniform- she wasn't sure, and it freaked her out that she didn't know, but it was over in an instant) she felt Michiru's presence, recalled their conversation on the trampoline. When her mind returned to her body and she was back on the basketball court in a tiny sailor outfit and boots, she grabbed her phone from where it had landed on the ground. One new message.

Meet me in the morning? I have something to show you, it read. It was from Michiru. Haruka's stomach fluttered and her face burst with a grin.

Definitely, she responded. Can I pick you up?

Michiru responded almost immediately, the text only an address and a time- 9 am. Haruka must have still been grinning at her phone because Mina cleared her throat loudly and tapped her shoe against the court. Haruka locked her phone and left it on the ground by Mina's bag, hiding her flushed face from her friend.

"Stop being gay," Mina said as if she knew what Haruka had been reading.

"That's a little difficult for me," Haruka jibed with a gummy grin.

Mina simply raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Haruka's knobby knees exposed in her tiny navy skirt. "It must be," she agreed.

"Fuck you," Haruka scoffed. "Aren't you gonna transform too?"

"I mean yeah, if you're ready," Mina countered.

Haruka threw her hands up. "I'm in the goddamn skirt," she gestured exasperatedly. "What do you mean ready? I don't even know what we're doing!"

Mina pointed at Haruka with intensity. "THERE she is," she commended. She kept pointing and pulled her transformation pen from her jacket pocket with the other hand. She gave Haruka an overdramatic nod, eyes narrowed, and raised her pen. "No more of this soft squishy boy shit," she barked. "It's time to act like a woman."

She shouted her words. Venus Planet Power. Haruka had said hers with hesitation, like a question, a strange command with nostalgic taste lost in the summer air. Mina said her words like a war cry, her nose to the sky, eyes clenched shut, as if the very same summer air bowed to her power. Haruka almost did bow.

An orange light glowed from just beneath Mina's skin on her chest, radiating quickly from her heart to her outstretched arms. Her eyes fell closed, her lips parted in a serene way, as if she were sleeping. The orange blaze grew brighter and brighter, so bright Haruka couldn't look at it anymore, and she shielded her eyes until the light went out with a flash. Haruka moved her hand to see Mina in a suit exactly like hers, with different colors. The uniform looked sweet on Mina, the orange complimenting her red bow. Haruka could see what she and Mako were saying the morning she woke- as she inspected the bow on her own bosom, she knew neither of them looked like much of a threat.

She laughed to herself. "God Mina, we look-"

"Venus," Mina boomed. She stood at the opposite end of the basketball court, hands on her hips, face free of any and all vulnerability she had worn only moments ago. The wisps of hair around her bangs tousled in the breeze. "Or commander," she ordered.

Caught off guard, Haruka hesitated, but she felt a twinge of superhero instinct again, and simply widened her stance. She kept stoic eye contact with Venus, nodded her head, and clenched her fists.

Venus glanced off to the sides of the basketball courts, where she had placed three gold discs, two to Haruka's right and one to her left. Haruka arched her brow back at her friend in question.

"First, we're going to work on your reflexes," Venus informed her.

"Really, my reflexes aren't bad dude, I only dropped that pen in your kitchen because I had no idea what the fuck you were throwing me, okay?" Haruka knitted her eyebrows together at the smaller girl. Superhero instinct and commanding officers aside, Haruka prided herself on her finely tuned reflexes, conditioned by years and years of baseball. She felt the wind pick up around her.

Venus took a few steps forward, her short heels echoing against the asphalt. She touched her gloved hand to a chain around her waist. What was that? There wasn't one on Haruka's uniform. "You have this all wrong, my friend," she bellowed in this assertive version of Mina's voice again. It sounded unfamiliar to Haruka's ear, but Uranus felt like she knew it well. She wondered if Mina and Venus were different people. She wondered if Haruka and Uranus were different people. The wind whistled past her ear, the gusts getting stronger, whipping past the trees around them with each step Venus took towards her. "That was an order," she stopped and yanked the chain from around her waist to extend it. She cracked it in the air and let the heavy metal fall to the ground. It radiated orange light when she held it.

Haruka couldn't help it, she cracked a smile and raised her palms up. "Okay, okay, whatever you say, Venus," she tittered, and rolled her eyes.

Venus smirked back at her. Her glowing chain rattled against the asphalt of the court as she pulled it toward her slowly, gathering it up like a whip. "Get ready," she stated simply.

Suddenly the chain was coming at Haruka. It zoomed toward her with little effort from Venus' skinny arms. Instinctually, Haruka dodged the chain, jumping to her left, ducking her head.

"Shit dude!" Haruka yelled to her friend. "Warn me or something first!"

Without hesitation, Venus retracted the chain and hoisted it out again with a grunt. This time Haruka wasn't quite fast enough. The chain caught her ankle and she fell to the ground, her palms and knees tearing against the asphalt like tissue paper. She wheezed at the contact, shocked when she looked down and saw blood gush from her right knee.

"Get up," Venus commanded. So she did. She pushed herself up on shaky arms. Despite the blood, Haruka didn't feel much pain. She remembered what Venus said about the suits making you feel stronger, and suddenly the tiny skirt and bows didn't seem all that bad.

Venus drug the chain back against the asphalt again, and before Haruka could even dust herself off it was coming for her face. She bobbed her head quickly to the right, a solid dodge, but Venus threw her chain with rapid precision, and it was headed for her again before she could congratulate herself. She rolled to her left, leaving a streak of blood from her knee on the court by the three point line.

"Very good," Venus commended. Haruka stayed crouched, her eyes fixed on the chain. She wouldn't let it hit her again.

Venus whipped the chain out towards Haruka again and again, this time in quick succession. Haruka jumped to her right, leaned to her left, kept her balance. She had to show Mina- er, Venus- that she could handle this. The third time she threw it over her head, aiming straight for Haruka's neck, and the taller girl was too slow again. The chain wrapped itself around her neck, stifling her breath. Venus yanked the chain toward herself, forcing Haruka to her knees.

"You have to focus," Venus asserted.

"I- am- focused," Haruka choked out, her hands scrambling to pull the chain off. It infuriated her that Mina wasn't giving her a chance. How was this fight fair? She had no weapons, had no idea what her powers entailed, and yet Venus showed her no mercy.

Venus yanked the chain, forcing Haruka to fall to the ground and roll toward the edge of the court as it unfurled like a vine. Pebbles of gravel stuck to the blood dripping down her knee. Her hands and throat burned as she sputtered, pushing herself to sit up.

"No, you aren't," Venus challenged. Haruka continued to cough and gasp for air. "Get up!"

Haruka pushed herself to her feet.

"Now get ready this time."

Haruka didn't know how. She focused her eyes on the chain again and raised her fists unsurely, trying to prepare herself.

Every time Venus started with the chain again, she whipped it faster and faster, until Haruka could barely see it, could only follow the glow of orange light. She would duck, tumble to her left, jump over the chain beneath her feet, only to have it catch the back of her head the next time. She bubbled with anger and embarrassment. She could hear Liam's voice in the back of her head, taunting her when they were children, telling her she couldn't wrestle with the big kids down the street because she was a girl. I might not be as strong, she would say to him, but I'm faster than any of them. They'll never catch m- THWACK, there was the chain, clipping her already wounded knee, knocking her to the asphalt again.

Venus chuckled. "I wish you could see how red your face is right now, it's fucking hilarious," she taunted, mindlessly swinging the chain by her hip.

Haruka wiped her wet nose with the back of her glove and sniffled, forcing herself to stand again.

"Oh my god dude, are you crying?" Venus cackled. "Here I was getting scared that when Uranus revealed herself she'd usurp my powers! Come to find out she's just a whiny, sniveling baby like Usagi, ha!"

Haruka saw red. She clenched her fists, her teeth, tried her best to control her rage. The trees in the park rustled with another strong gust of sudden wind.

Venus grinned at Haruka's anger, drew her chain back along with her foot, like she was a cat about to pounce. Haruka flinched and closed her eyes, but the chain didn't come.

"Do you see what you just did?" Venus boomed. Haruka held back every curse word she knew. "STOP FLINCHING, and GET. FUCKING. READY."

Haruka almost growled with anger. She was only flinching because she had nothing to defend herself with! Get ready?! Haruka would show Venus ready.

When Venus went for her with the chain, this time Haruka dodged and took a step forward. She felt the metal zoom past her ear, ruffling her hair. The orange light came again, faster, so she rolled forward instead of to the side, removing distance between her and Venus. She quickly readied herself in a crouch, waited a split second for the chain to come for her again, and there it was, the orange light headed directly for her face. With swift movement she didn't know she possessed, she ducked her head and grabbed the chain, hissing with pain as the velocity of Venus' throw wrapped the metal around her scraped hand, thank god this stupid uniform has gloves. She only saw the look of surprise on Venus' face for the briefest moment before she took the chain in her fist and pulled as hard as she could, forcing Venus to her hands and knees on the asphalt. Haruka felt a swell of pride in her chest and tried not to let it show on her face.

She breathed heavily as Venus chuckled. "Very good," her commander said.

When Venus got to her feet, her eyes were even stonier than before. She wrapped her chain around her waist and the orange glow faded. "Now, if your skinny noodle legs can do it, you get up and get on your side of the court again."

The wind whistled past them, a cyclone around the court, and Haruka was blind with anger. She clenched and unclenched her fists over and over. She couldn't calm down. It drove her mad that even when she knocked the girl to the ground, Venus still sneered at her as if she were a little girl, unfit as a member of their team. Haruka would show her. She'd show all of them.

"Ready?" Venus asked with a smirk.

Haruka spit on the ground to her left in response. Venus laughed, feeding her rage.

"Oooookay," she sang, then gracefully removed a glove to snap her fingers.

The three gold discs on either side of Haruka rose from the ground and started to spin. Shit. The discs flew at her, twice as fast as Venus' chain, giving Haruka no time to figure out what to do, so she did the only thing she knew she could- run. She took off, tracing the perimeter of the court, the discs in quick pursuit. She realized they weren't just flying at her, they were following her. She picked up the pace, this was the fastest she had ever run, but the discs were so fucking fast, they were right on her tail. The trees around her blurred, a green mass of wind and branches. Her mind reeled. She had to run faster, those discs were probably made of some insane ungodly magical metal, that was what was making Mina's purse so heavy, they could maybe kill her if they hit hard enough in the right place, someone was yelling at her but she had to run, faster, faster, I have to show Mina I'm worth her time, I have to show her I can be a superhero, I can wrestle with the boys down the street, I can run faster than anyone, I'm the fucking wind-

She had been so wrapped up in her brain she didn't even realized Venus was yelling at her to stop. When her commander's voice registered she halted immediately, dropping to the ground, her lungs burning, the soles of her feet in agony. She wondered where the discs went, but she was so, so dizzy, maybe she could just lay on the ground here forever. She vaguely heard Venus' heels against the asphalt approaching her now probably dead body. She opened her eyes to see Venus crouched next to her.

"Dude," Venus breathed, the mask gone for the first moment since they set foot on the court. "That was amazing!"

Haruka's chest heaved as she forced as much air as she could to her lungs so she could speak. "What..?" she asked, looking around worriedly, expecting something to hit her any second.

"Those discs?" Venus jabbed her thumb at center court where the three gold enemies lay motionless on the ground. "They can only be stopped with our magic, dude, Setsuna gave them to me."

Haruka was irritated by how confusing this was. She tried to stand but she couldn't move her legs, they felt like jelly. "But I didn't do any magic," she sputtered.

"Fuck yeah you did!" Venus exclaimed, grabbing Haruka by the shoulders, making her flinch in pain. "Dude! It's the wind! We figured it out! You ran so fast you made a fucking cyclone in the middle of the court! It brought down the discs! Don't you get it? Your powers are sustained by wind!"

Haruka didn't understand, at all, but she grinned back at Venus anyhow. She could feel her bangs sticking to her forehead with sweat. "That's… good?" she asked.

"FUCK yeah that's good!" Venus stood and fist pumped. She let out a war cry to the sky and Haruka let out a labored laugh. "Come on, Little League," she said, extending a gloved hand to help her friend up. "We have to go tell everyone!" She wrapped her arm around Haruka's shoulders and shook her roughly, screaming to the park and the world, "WE HAVE A MOTHER FUCKING SAILOR SCOUT RIGHT HERE, PEOPLE!"


End file.
